Welcome to St Clare's School
Welcome to St Clare’s, a leading independent school for children aged 2 ½ to 18 years of age, carrying a very strong academic profile.
Located in the historic village of Newton, we are close to the coast on the outskirts of Porthcawl, South Wales. St Clare's has a rich tradition of providing exceptional education for over 85 years to pupils from Nursery all the way through to Sixth Form.
The St Clare’s approach reaps rewards, with results from academic yearly progress tests exceeding the national average in all core subjects. We are particularly proud to be in the top 5% of top-performing A-Level schools in the UK for ALPS (A-Level Performance System) since 2018.
Our Nursery has won the Daynurseries UK "Top 20" Award (Wales) for 4 years in a row, based purely on our parents' 10/10 reviews scores.
St Clare's independent school is structured to provide your child with the best education and life skills and you can feel confident your child will be nurtured to realise their full potential.
St Clare's Nursery
Specialist teaching in Spanish, French, Forest School
Top 20 Nursery in Wales (DayNurseries.co.uk) for past 4 years
From as little as £48.89 per day (or £37.75 with the Bridgend Early Years Funding applied), our surprisingly competitive fees include early drop off from 08:00, healthy hot home-cooked lunch and after school care from 3:30 - 5:30.
Bridgend Early Years Funding Grant offered (10 hours)
Book a Visit
Every day is an Open Day here at St Clare's
We are delighted that you are considering a place at St Clare's for your child and would like to welcome you to our wonderful school.
Whether you are looking for an immediate start, or for the 2025/26 academic year, please do book a personal tour and see for yourself what makes St Clare's such an exciting, welcoming place to send your child.
Mrs Hier became Head at St Clare’s School in June 2018 after 5 years as Deputy Headteacher and 15 years as a Spanish Teacher. She has a passion for modern foreign languages, and introduced the impactful Enrichment Programme at St Clare’s.
“In order for a child to be successful academically, it is extremely important that they are happy.”
- Helen Hier, Headteacher
Join us for a Personal Tour
We warmly welcome families throughout the year, offering tailored personal tours on a day that suits you, including school holidays.
Enjoy a guided tour around the school by a member of our friendly Admissions Team who can answer any questions you may have.
FACILITIES & LOCATION
Nestled in 11 acres of magnificent grounds.
Our pupils learn and discover in a beautiful setting within walking distance of the coast, easily accessible from the M4 motorway.
Extensively refurbished, our beautiful buildings, sports grounds, Early Years centre, Sixth Form Hub and calm outdoor space provide pupils with the inspiration to achieve and excel.
Follow St Clare's on Social Media
Our Early Years Forest School taster session allowed children to experience a variety of activities such as:
- A fire circle
- Planting and digging
- Construction
- Stories
- Role play using mud kitchen
Keep a look out for our next free Forest School taster session. #stclaresporthcawl #forestschool

Your child’s early years are the crucial years, shaping their development and future success.
We combine high-quality educational experience with an unparalleled level of care and support. Our outstanding Reception class is the ideal way to ease your child into the exciting world of learning.
Our Reception class offers a supportive and fun bridge between Nursery and the more formal educational experience enjoyed from Year 1.
Smaller class sizes offer far more opportunity for individualised learning and, therefore, the needs of each pupil can be met whilst also allowing for opportunities to stretch and challenge our children.
#stclaresporthcawl #earlyyears #reception

To celebrate British Science Week, we would like to congratulate our Year 13 Biology students who demonstrated our school values of Achievement, Challenge and Excellence through participation in the British Biology Olympiad.
The British Biology Olympiad is an advanced problem-solving competition for A Level students. This year 17,865 students from 1053 schools participated.
Two of our students were successful in achieving a Bronze and Highly Commended Award. We are very proud of their achievements.
#stclaresporthcawl #biology #britishbiologyolympiad #britishscienceweek

St Clare’s World Book Day 📚
Pupils at St Clare’s experienced a wonderful variety of learning opportunities to celebrate World Book Day.
The Prep School completed a parade to celebrate the amazing world of books and to show each other their chosen character costumes.
Year 5 and 6 enjoyed using their digital skills to create images and videos for the World Book Day theme “Read Your Way”. They designed creative scenarios where reading would not usually take place.
To further encourage their love for reading the children also completed a book swap.
The Senior School enjoyed completing a Reading Buddy Session to share a love for reading with others.
Pupils also enjoyed a delicious Mad Hatter’s Tea Party inspired lunch.
#stclaresporthcawl #worldbookday2025

Year 10 Chemistry pupils enjoyed a visit to Swansea University Chemistry Department.
Pupils had the exciting opportunity to carry out experiments including an acid-base titration, and the synthesis of aspirin. #stclaresporthcawl #chemistry

Pupils in Nursery to Year 6 enjoyed celebrating Wales for Saint David`s Day. The children experienced performing their own Eisteddfod with song, poetry and art. This authentic experience gave the winning poet from Year 6 the opportunity to become the first Bard and be involved in the chairing ceremony. #stclaresporthcawl #stdavidsday

We were delighted to welcome Phil Williams, philanthropist and sustainability champion, to our school as part of an inspiring project aimed at raising awareness about the global climate crisis. His visit ignited creativity and passion among our students, who eagerly took part in producing art, music, and poetry to highlight the urgency of climate action.
Through workshops and discussions, students explored the power of artistic expression in addressing environmental challenges. They poured their thoughts and emotions into visual pieces, musical compositions, and heartfelt poetry, all aimed at engaging their peers in meaningful conversations about sustainability and our planet’s future.
A particularly proud moment for our school came when a selection of these student
contributions was shared with none other than Sir David Attenborough. To our delight, he responded with a personal, handwritten letter to Mrs. Hier, expressing his appreciation for the students’ efforts and commending their dedication to environmental advocacy. His words of thanks were a touching reminder of how young voices can make a difference in the global conversation on climate change.
We are incredibly proud of our students for their creativity and commitment to this
important cause. A huge thank you to Phil Williams for his inspiration and guidance, and to all who took part in this remarkable project. Let’s continue using our talents to advocate for a sustainable future!
#privateschool #beyoubrilliantly #WeAreCognita #sustainability #climatechange

Just before the half term break we held an Enrichment Day, which gave pupils the opportunity to develop lots of important skills, such as teamwork and problem solving.
Children had a fantastic day working together in their `houses`, taking part in a duck hunt activity, a junk modelling competition and Pictionary. They were also reminded of the importance of taking time for themselves and engaged in a guided meditation session.
#beyoubrilliantly #WeAreCognita #privateschool #enrichment

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