The school is situated in attractive surroundings in the village of Bassaleg on the west side of Newport. It is within easy reach of the M4 motorway. Newport and Cardiff are some ten and twenty minutes away respectively, while Bristol can be reached in about three quarters of an hour.

The buildings form a natural campus, with playing fields, lawns and gardens. Although the school is not purpose-built, the general facilities are good. In addition to the normal classrooms, there are two assembly halls with separate dining rooms attached, three gymnasia, two libraries, ten science laboratories, seven workshops, a Business ICT suite, four computer studies rooms and two sixth form common rooms. Within the last three years high quality Art classrooms and additional changing facilities for Physical Education have been built. In 2010 a new Geography/AEN Block was built and the electricity is supplied by the recently constructed wind turbine.

The catchment area of the school is balanced, providing an appropriate academic and social range. On entry, all children are placed in tutorial groups of mixed ability; in year 7 the tutor groups are also the basic teaching groups. The timetable is so arranged, however, that there is provision for those children with additional learning difficulties. For the first three years, there is a basic curriculum with a choice of a third language provided at the end of the first year.

From year 10 upwards, the subject choice is extensive, with a definite structure to enable all pupils to receive a balanced curriculum. There is a large sixth form and a wide choice of subjects is offered at A2 and A/S level. In addition, there is a National Certificate in Business and Welsh Baccalaureate at intermediate level.

The results at GCSE, Entry Level, and A level are outstanding and the majority of sixth form students go on to higher education, including a regular entry to Oxford and Cambridge.

Each year (7-11) has a Head of Year supported by an assistant and 9 or 10 tutors. Each Head of Year is responsible for the support and guidance given to each pupil as he/she progresses through the school. In years 12 and 13 there is a Head of Sixth Form who is supported by three assistants.

The school runs a full programme of curriculum enrichment activities. The Estyn 2004 Inspection team commented that, “In many subjects, but especially in music, drama and physical education, the work covered in class is enriched significantly by the wide range of good quality extra-curricular activities”.

The atmosphere of the school may be described as formal but friendly, encouraging an innovative approach at all times. There is a proactive School Council which gives pupils direct access to the Headteacher and which discusses many whole school issues. Uniform is worn by all pupils of the school and good behaviour is expected and obtained. Home/school links are considered extremely important and there are regular meetings with parents to discuss the welfare and progress of their children. There is also a Friends of Bassaleg School Association. The average attendance record of pupils is constantly well above ninety percent.

A very successful whole school inspection was carried out by Estyn in March 2010. Bassaleg was described as “an outstanding school that achieves exceptionally high standards of achievement as a result of innovative and consistently high quality teaching and leadership”.