St Clare's School is a
coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
private day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...
, located in the village of
Newton (near
Porthcawl
Porthcawl () is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is located on the south coast, west of Cardiff and south-east of Swansea.
Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South ...
), in
Bridgend County Borough, South
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. St. Clare's is a non-selective independent school attended by pupils aged 2 1/2 years through to 18. The school provides preparatory, secondary and tertiary education leading to
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
and
A-level qualifications. Formerly a Roman Catholic school, it is now owned and operated by the
Cognita Group.
History
In 1938, the Rev. Canon James of Newton invited the Sisters of St Clare from
Newry,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
to open a secondary day-school for girls in their new convent at the Clevis in
Newton. The school was originally titled Sacred Heart School.
Pupil numbers swelled during the war years as evacuees joined the school as boarders. Therefore, the decision was taken to form two schools – Preparatory and Senior. Both schools were renamed after St. Clare. Boys were admitted to the school, but only the Preparatory School. Boarding ceased in the early 1990s due to falling numbers. In May 2006, the Sisters of St Clare took the decision to retire and the school was sold to
Cognita Schools. The name became simply St Clare's School.
In May 2025, it was announced that the school would close permanently at the end of that academic year.
The school today
St. Clare's is a co-educational, non-selective day school for children aged 2 1/2 – 18 years. The school is divided into 4 departments:
Nursery school (children ages 2 1/2 – 4); Junior School (ages 4 – 11);
Senior School (ages 11–16); and
Sixth form
In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
(ages 16 – 18).
See also
*
Cognita
References
External links
*
Cognita Schools' Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Clare's School, Newton
Private schools in Bridgend County Borough
Educational institutions established in 1938
Cognita
1938 establishments in Wales
2025 disestablishments in Wales
Educational institutions disestablished in 2025