Cantonian High School
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Cantonian High School is a council school in Cardiff for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 947 pupils, 47 more than it has places for. We give it 56 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.
Fairwater Road, Fairwater, Cardiff, CF5 3JR029 2041 5250All details
Inspection
Schools in Wales are inspected by Estyn, not Ofsted. Since September 2022 Estyn's reports describe what a school does well and what it needs to work on, without giving a grade.
Estyn's latest report, and any follow-up visits, are on Estyn's website. The only schools given a formal label are those in special measures or needing significant improvement.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
Wales scores GCSEs in points rather than counting passes. Here is how the school compares with all secondaries in Wales.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Cardiff | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim) | 368 | 358 | 353 | 380 | 366 |
| English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score | 38.3 | 35.2 | 36.4 | 41.4 | 39.9 |
| Maths scoreNumeracy points score | 36.5 | 37.1 | 37.2 | 39.2 | 36.9 |
| Science scoreScience points score | 42.0 | 39.8 | 39.6 | 38.3 | 37.0 |
| Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score | 0.0 | 29.2 | 28.5 | 21.6 | 31.6 |
| Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals | 354 | 323 | 307 | 336 | 308 |
Interim measures published by the Welsh Government; no measures were published for 2020 to 2022.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 4 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child gets free school meals. The Welsh figures are averaged over three years, and the grey marks show Wales rather than England.
Getting a place
There is no entrance test. The council hands out the places. Brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups go first; after that, the closer you live, the better your chances.
Teaching is in English.
You apply through Cardiff council, not the school.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Year | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 42.7% | 44.5% | 44.0% | 42.0% | 39.6% | 37.5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN) | 8.8% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 5.9% | 28.0% | 35.0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 17.4% | 7.3% | 9.3% | 7.5% | 9.3% | 7.8% |
| Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils | 36.2% | 34.6% | 35.6% | 32.5% | 31.3% | 28.2% |
Attendance
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 82.6% of the time. Across secondary schools in Wales it was 89.6%. Wales doesn't publish figures on pupils who miss a lot of school, or on exclusions, for individual schools.
Staff and budget
From the Welsh Government's My Local School, 2025/26.
The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £944 more than the Welsh average for secondary schools. Small and rural schools tend to get more per pupil.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bishop Of Llandaff C.I.W. High School | Church in Wales | 540 m | 1,263 | Estyn, no grade | 100 | Compare |
| Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr | Council | 0.7 miles | 1,181 | Estyn, no grade | 58 | Compare |
| Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf | Council | 0.7 miles | 1,498 | Estyn, no grade | 93 | Compare |
| Cardiff West Community High School | Council | 1.2 miles | 1,061 | Estyn, no grade | 3 | Compare |
| Radyr Comprehensive School | Council | 1.3 miles | 1,426 | Estyn, no grade | 92 | Compare |
| Whitchurch High School | Foundation | 1.6 miles | 2,459 | Estyn, no grade | 66 | Compare |
| Fitzalan High School | Council | 1.7 miles | 1,833 | Estyn, no grade | 70 | Compare |
| Cathays High School | Council | 1.9 miles | 1,247 | Estyn, no grade | 88 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Cantonian High School with the 50 schools in Wales whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Cantonian High School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitzalan High School | Council | 1.7 miles | 1,833 | Estyn, no grade | 70 | Compare |
| Cathays High School | Council | 1.9 miles | 1,247 | Estyn, no grade | 88 | Compare |
| Mary Immaculate R.C. High School | Roman Catholic | 2.2 miles | 871 | Estyn, no grade | 89 | Compare |
| St Teilo's C.I.W. High School | Church in Wales | 4.1 miles | 1,375 | Estyn, no grade | 67 | Compare |
| St Illtyds R.C. High School | Roman Catholic | 5.4 miles | 990 | Estyn, no grade | 73 | Compare |
| Ysgol Bro Taf | Council | 9.9 miles | 902 | Estyn, no grade | 68 | Compare |
| Risca Community Comprehensive School | Council | 10.6 miles | 618 | Estyn, no grade | 61 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 56 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 56% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 45 to 63. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 40% | in line | -0.07 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 189 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 25% | well above | +0.55 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 189 pupils |
| Attendance and behaviour | 20% | well below | -0.49 | 2024/25; 947 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 15% | above | +0.07 | results and attendance rising year on year |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Cantonian High School a good school?
It is about average. Cantonian High School scores 56 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 45 to 63, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.
How many pupils does Cantonian High School have?
947 pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 900 places, so it is 105% full.
Does Cantonian High School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Fairwater Road, Fairwater, Cardiff, CF5 3JR
- Telephone
- 029 2041 5250
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Cardiff
- Ward
- Fairwater
- Constituency
- Cardiff West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 401879 · School number 6814049 · UKPRN 10008753
- Language
- English medium school / provision
Recent changes
- PhaseCode changed from “Secondary” to “Other”
- TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
- Pupil numbers changed from “947” to “–”
- Free school meals % changed from “42.7” to “–”
- ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education Get Information About Schools and the Welsh Government address list of schools (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Results, attendance, pupils, staff and budget: Welsh Government, My Local School, latest data to 2026.
- Neighbourhood deprivation: Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 postcode lookup.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.