One of the defining characteristics of Rydal Penrhos is our instinct to keep improving.
Having long set the benchmark for independent education in North Wales, we continue to ask what more we can do for the young people who learn here. The drive to refine, upgrade and evolve our environment comes from a core belief that surroundings shape confidence, mindset and motivation — especially in the Sixth Form.
Our heritage gives us a head start.
For more than a century, Rydal Penrhos has led the way in education in our region. With that comes not just buildings, resources, and a track record of exam results, but also expertise, culture, and ways of doing. However, we do not view this inheritance as a finished product.
Today’s Sixth Form needs spaces that feel contemporary, flexible and aligned to the ways young people study now. Our significant and ongoing investment in school buildings and equipment has been shaped by this understanding.
Investment here is never about the bricks-and-mortar alone.
It is about the young people who will inhabit them.
Our new Humanities and Maths departments are a clear example. Created for the curriculum of today, these classrooms are bright, adaptable and equipped for discussion, problem-solving and collaborative work. They are inspiring spaces — environments where curiosity is encouraged and ideas can grow.
Alongside them, a newly created library area within the Sixth Form study centre offers pupils a place for calm and focus. A structured, modern space for reading, research and independent work, it supports the maturity and independence that define Years 12 and 13.
Technology plays a central role in this development. Every pupil now receives an iPad to support their learning — a tool for research, organisation, presentation, collaboration and revision. The device extends the classroom beyond its four walls, giving Sixth Formers the digital fluency and versatility that universities and employers expect.
Investment continues across sport and wellbeing. Our brand new, best-in-class Astro Turf supports high-level training and competition. The continually improving performance centre, building on the complete refurbishment of our gym in 2021, gives Sixth Formers excellent facilities to balance sporting ambition with wider Sixth Form life.
Then there are the thoughtful touches that shape daily life: improved café areas, better communal spaces, even our own house-blend coffee. Small improvements, but meaningful ones — helping pupils feel respected, trusted and ready to take the next step in their education.
When a school invests well, pupils feel it in the rhythm of their day — in where they study, where they train, where they relax, how they organise their work, and how they feel about themselves.
For our current Year 11 pupils, these developments signal an exciting shift into a more mature stage of school life. For prospective families, they show a school investing not only in facilities, but in the people those facilities exist to serve.
See these spaces — and the intention behind them — at our Sixth Form Discovery Day & Open Evening on Tuesday 18 November. It is the best way to understand how environment, investment and ambition come together in the Rydal Penrhos Sixth Form.
