Wales


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-where">WHAT? WHERE?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/School-Site-with-Blue-Sky.jpg" alt="Christ Church Brecon School grounds" class="wp-image-105155"/></figure>



<p>A co-ed day and boarding school for pupils from 4-18 years old founded by Henry VIII in 1541 (you can still see his ‘H’ on the school crest) you’ll find <a href="https://vimeo.com/christcollegebrecon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christ College Brecon</a> across 40 verdant acres in the heart of Brecon – a town famous both for its eponymous jazz festival and the stunning Brecon Beacons National Park that serves as the backdrop to the school.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Chapel-3.jpg" alt="chapel at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105160"/></figure>



<p>With just 380 pupils across all year groups at a 55/45 split between boys and girls, Christ College is a relatively small school, with all the attention on the children that bestows – class sizes here are an average of 15 pupils. The buildings veer between medieval (the beautiful chapel and the grand dining room with its enormous fireplace date to the 13<sup>th</sup> century) to areas of modern architecture – the shiny, gleaming Performing Arts centre is a highlight.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-facilities">FACILITIES</h2>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sport">SPORT</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mountain-Biking-3-copy.jpg" alt="BMX at Christ Church" class="wp-image-117247"/></figure>



<p>With this location it’s no surprise that there’s a big emphasis on sport and getting outdoors. Christ College is one of the top Welsh schools for rugby and there are sport scholarships available to help keep up standards. Cricket and hockey is played by all, and the main girls’ sports are currently netball and hockey. Other options here include mountain biking, squash, badminton, cross country, climbing, swimming, basketball, and tennis – seriously, your children will be well exercised! </p>



<p>On-site facilities include an astroturf, rugby pitches, tennis courts, netball courts, a cricket pitch with a pavilion that celebrated its centenary in 2024, squash courts, large multi-use sports hall with indoor cricket nets and a heated swimming pool. The school offers an Elite Player Pathway programme to help talented youngsters balance school and sport, with extra coaching, nutritional advice and sports psychology. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Rugby-Huddle.jpg" alt="Rugby huddle at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105164"/></figure>



<p>Cricket is growing (the school was highly commended by ‘The Cricketer’ for its cricket programme), with success in girls’ cricket particularly on the rise &#8211; two pupils have been selected for Glamorgan Academy’s 2025 Women’s Emerging Player Pathway Programme, a pathway programme for the most promising young cricketers in Wales.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The school also has partnerships with Cardiff Rugby and Hockey Wales and the results are heartening, with pupils over the last few years being&nbsp; selected for the Welsh U19s and U20s as well as various professional contracts with Bristol Bears and Dragons RFC. The boys rugby team plays in the national schools and colleges league, and the school hosts a Rugby Sevens tournament each February. Both the girls&#8217; and boys&#8217; hockey teams were national champions in 2025, while the boys’ basketball team were county winners and regional finalists.&nbsp;Successful sporting alumni include James Roberts MBE – 2-time Paralympian (2016/2021) and Gold Medallist at Tokyo 2021.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-creative-arts">CREATIVE ARTS</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Music-1.jpg" alt="pupil playing the violin at Christ Church Brecon school" class="wp-image-105156"/></figure>



<p>Musically, Christ College’s choral offering packs a punch, with a huge 25% of pupils in the Senior Choir, with the emphasis firmly on enjoyment, although I can *clang* namedrop tours that have included singing at Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia and St Peter’s in Rome. Not bad! There’s also a Prep School choir – a surprisingly recent addition &#8211; and an audition-only mixed Chapel Choir of 43 pupils that sings at the three chapel services each week.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Chapel.jpg" alt="choir in chapel at Christ Church Brecon school" class="wp-image-105168"/></figure>



<p>As you’d expect, there are the usual peri music teachers here with 40% of pupils taking lessons, a little lower than I see elsewhere, but enough to fuel the various ensembles for wind, guitar, percussion, brass, and strings. The music and drama departments club together for the school musicals output – last Christmas the Senior school performed <em>Shrek The Musical </em>and the Prep School brought out <em>The Little Mermaid</em>. Interestingly there’s no Drama A level at Christ College; instead there’s a BTEC in Performing Arts, a more vocational offering that may suit those wanting a practical springboard into the industry. A 250-seat modern theatre for drama and musical performances, plus a separate drama studio and exhibition gallery provide ample facilities.</p>



<p>In terms of Art, there’s a dedicated art block at the school with various teaching and workshop areas across ceramics, textiles and sculpture. The DT course has been swapped out for the more popular Photography, which is part of the curriculum from Y7-Y9 and available at both GSCE and A level.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prep">PREP</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Prep-School-2.jpg" alt="prep pulls at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105149"/></figure>



<p>The Prep has incorporated Y7-Y8 since 2023, with a view to giving the children the chance to take leadership positions as prefects and house captains before moving up to Senior school. The modern building of St Nicholas House is the home for Reception – Y6; Y7-Y8 have their own common room space in Alway House, also the boarding house for children aged 10 &#8211; 12 yrs.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-academics">ACADEMICS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Academic-5.jpg" alt="pupils at Christ Church Brecon school" class="wp-image-105157"/></figure>



<p>Tidy. Although Christ College sees itself as an all-rounder school, the 2025&nbsp; academic exam results showed nearly a quarter of GSCES and A Level pupils hitting the top grades. GSCE results were: 9-8 (23%), 9-7 (40%), 9-5 (85%) and an overall pass rate at 96%. A-Level 2025 results were also strong, A*-A (41%) and A*-B (72%) and 91% of pupils securing spots at their first-choice university courses, including Oxford, Durham, Warwick, Bath and Imperial. For those more interested in vocational studies, there are three to choose from at Christ College – BTECs in Performing Arts, Sport and IT. The school offers mostly mainstream study subjects, with French and Spanish the main languages along with Welsh as an option.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pastoral">PASTORAL</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Sixth-Form-Girls.jpg" alt="sixth form at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105171"/></figure>



<p>The benefit of a school with a bijou 380 pupils means there’s a sharper focus on those who are struggling, with a buddy system, house tutors, a chaplain, a part time counsellor and house parents all providing support. The Welfare Centre sits at the centre of the school, which includes a newish Wellbeing Room for those who need time out. </p>



<p>More proactively, Christ College also runs various programmes to create a positive mindset – the one-week outdoor Beacon Course for Y9 pupils focuses on growing self-confidence and positive thinking before starting GCSEs, whilst in the Sixth Form the Curriculum for Life teaches the pupils the skills they need for the next stage of their life – how to be financially literate, and look after themselves mentally and physically as well as visits from inspirational alumni and career advice from various sectors. Kind of wondering how I can take that course myself, but that’s a different review.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There’s also something called The Gratitude Programme in the summer term for Y8 and Upper 6<sup>th</sup> pupils that teaches the pupils to reflect on their school experience (whether that’s the end of Prep or the end of Sixth Form) and acknowledge those who have helped them during that time – a life skill in anyone’s book.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-head">THE HEAD</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gareth-Pearson.jpg" alt="Head master of Christ Church Brecon Gareth Pearson" class="wp-image-105166"/></figure>



<p>Gareth Pearson is Christ College’s talisman. After 8 years in the Royal Marines, followed by a career change to teaching that took in being house master at Wellington and senior deputy at Lord Wandsworth College, he’s been in the hot seat here since 2017. Friendly and unpretentious, he’s disarmingly open about the occasional town v gown distrust, and ways he wants improve the school’s academics further, such as empowering the kids’ thinking by getting the teachers to ‘let go’ of the teaching-from-the-front mentality. Christ College’s super-positive ‘Believe to Achieve’ mantra is straight out of Pearson’s ‘give it a go’ rule book. He also eyes Christ College as a cricketing Centre of Excellence.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quirks">QUIRKS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Adventure-1.jpg" alt="Christ Church Brecon School" class="wp-image-105167"/></figure>



<p>All children attend Saturday school but they’re learning from Christ College’s so-called ‘second curriculum’ which is basically about enrichment – sport, adventure, creative arts and pushing boundaries. There’s a sweet tradition where only Y13s are allowed to walk through a certain gate by Chapel – that gate is where they file out for the final time when they leave school. There are also some fabulous carved seats at Chapel dating back to medieval times.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boarding">BOARDING</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Alway-House-Pupils.jpg" alt="boarding at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105151"/></figure>



<p>Around half of the kids board here, either flexi, weekly or full time, with flexi available from Y7, and weekly from Y5 onwards. Most of the full-time boarders are overseas pupils, who make up around 17% of the school cohort. There are four boarding houses, two for boys and two for girls, with between 4-5 to a dorm, with most Sixth Formers graduating to having their own bedrooms.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Sixth-form-Common-Room.jpg" alt="snooker at christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105169"/></figure>



<p>Your children will be in neither ridiculous luxury nor horrific squalor at Christ College. Like most boarding houses I see, those here are a mix of lived-in common rooms, wood laminate furniture, positive mantras (“Just because I can’t sing doesn’t mean I won’t sing!”) homely touches and jolly house parents. </p>



<p>There is, though, a gentle accountability here that I like, such as the Amnesty Room in School House where stuff left around the common room gets confiscated, and can only be released by handing over 50p, all of which adds up nicely for a charity donation by the end of the term. Everyone is expected to make their own beds and put dirties in washing baskets. </p>



<p>Hilariously the Y13s rooms are inspected by the Y9s (with the house parents there for moral support) and even better there are lockable safes, not for wallets and phones, but for personal food items, otherwise apparently it’s locust territory. No chocolate bar is safe.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-additional-learning">ADDITIONAL LEARNING</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Sixth-Form-Class.jpg" alt="sixth form pupils in class at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105159"/></figure>



<p>No surprise in a non-selective school that there’s a strong Additional Learning Centre here (ALN being the Welsh version of SEND), that was established back in 1995. The head of the ALN department is a fully accredited member of the British Dyslexia Association, with dyslexia the main learning issue at the school and roughly 15% of the school having some kind of ALN. Additional support takes place as much as possible in the classroom but is also offered in small groups through timetable modifications depending on the need.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-estyn-report">ESTYN REPORT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CCB-Pupils.jpg" alt="rugby at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105154"/></figure>



<p>Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales rated Christ College a meeting all its regulatory standard in its Nov 2024 report, claiming that “ “Pupils demonstrate exemplary manners and celebrate each other’s achievements with sincerity and enthusiasm” along with praise for the Head who “promotes strong moral and professional values. These contribute very effectively to an ethos that unites all members of the school community.” <a href="https://estyn.gov.wales/app/uploads/2024/12/Inspection-report-Christ-College-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read the report here</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mobile-phone-policy">MOBILE PHONE POLICY</h2>



<p>For Y7-Y11 , there are no phones allowed during the day (8.30am – 4pm). For pupil wellbeing, no phones are allowed overnight and boarders must hand them in at night to the houseparent. Those in&nbsp;Y12 – Y13 are allowed phones during the day, but only to be used in Houses during breaktime/ lunchtime and after school. Misuse will result in confiscation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-transport">TRANSPORT</h2>



<p>A school minibus service picks up from Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Abergavenny, Hay-on-Wye, Llandrindod Wells and Llandeilo, Mon – Fri and Sat mornings. To give you bearings, Brecon is around 1 hr from Cardiff, an 90 mins from Bristol and 3 hrs from London.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fees">FEES</h2>



<p>With independent schools now liable for VAT, Christ College has made a clear decision to phase in price rises to help its parents cope with the increase. Fees will rise 5% each academic year to a maximum of 15% at year three, versus the 20% VAT being charged to the school. Compared to its English equivalents, Christ College is not expensive, with annual fees <em>including</em> VAT for day pupils rising from £11,808 in Y1 &amp; Y2 to £26,208 in Sixth Form, or for weekly boarding it’s £23,898 for Y5 up to £45,663 for Sixth Form. Full boarding ranges from £28,527 for Y5 to £50,523 in Sixth Form, again including VAT.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-word-on-the-ground">WORD ON THE GROUND</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Prep-School-3.jpg" alt="prep school pupils at Christ Church Brecon" class="wp-image-105148"/></figure>



<p>The pupils are settled here. ‘Kind’ and ‘lovely’ were words being bandied around to describe the school by the kids I nobbled. The Head is popular with pupils and parents, seen as proactive and modernising. The one moan is that the food could be better – <em>plus ca change</em>. Teachers Ms Hopkins (Welsh) and Mrs McLean (French) – you have been singled out for praise by my tour guides!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



<p><strong>GOOD FOR:</strong> The all-rounder offering and have-a-go ethos gives Christ College broad appeal. Those needing more emotional scaffolding and small class support should find it here.</p>



<p><strong>NOT FOR: </strong>Brecon is a small town so if you’re looking for big-hitting museums and theatres right on the doorstep, a more city-based school might be a better fit.</p>



<p><strong>DARE TO DISAGREE?</strong> <a href="https://www.christcollegebrecon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christ College&#8217;s</a> next Sixth Form Open Evening is on Mon 17 Nov, and the next Open Morning is on Sat 7 Mar 2026. In the meantime you can take a whistle stop tour <a href="https://vimeo.com/933631570" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.christcollegebrecon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christ College</a>, Llanfaes, Brecon LD3 8AF. Tel: 01874 615440.</em></p>


Christ College, Brecon

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