Cardiff West Community High School

Secondary · ages 11-19Council1,061 pupilsSixth formCardiff

School Chooser Score

Well below
similar schools

Likely range 1 to 4

Out of 100. Better than 10% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.

Best nine GCSE grades score331Wales 366

Attendance81.2%Wales 89.6%

Pupils from low-income families59%Wales 20%

Pupils with additional learning needs12%Wales 11%

Pupils on roll1,061

NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Cardiff West Community High School is a council school in Cardiff for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 1,061 pupils. We give it 3 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 10% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Penally Road, Caerau, Cardiff, CF5 5XP029 2067 1444All 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.

Find this school's Estyn reports My Local School (Welsh Government)

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.

Best nine GCSE grades score331

Wales 366

Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)

English or Welsh score30.9

Wales 39.9

Official name: Literacy points score

Maths score27.3

Wales 36.9

Official name: Numeracy points score

Science score24.6

Wales 37.0

Official name: Science points score

Trend

Best nine GCSE grades score

2023 to 2025

Since 2023: -7Steady overall

All GCSE measures, year by year

Measure	2025	2024	2023	Cardiff	Wales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)	331	318	338	380	366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score	30.9	30.2	33.9	41.4	39.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score	27.3	27.5	30.5	39.2	36.9
Science scoreScience points score	24.6	25.7	28.5	38.3	37.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score	24.4	15.4	23.5	21.6	31.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals	320	310	327	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

Best nine GCSE grades scoreLow-income pupils vs all pupils

319.9330.9

Gap 11.0England 57.9

Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

28.530.9

Gap 2.4

Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

24.227.3

Gap 3.1

Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

21.224.6

Gap 3.4

First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

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.

Pupils on roll1,061

Pupils from low-income families59%Three-year average; Wales 20%

Pupils getting extra support12%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%

Pupils learning English11%First language is not English or Welsh

Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils31%

LanguageEnglish mediumEnglish medium school / provision

NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 1 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)

How the mix of pupils has changed

Year	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals	59.1%	62.3%	63.2%	61.0%	55.0%	48.4%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)	12.0%	8.9%	8.8%	40.8%	39.3%	40.9%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language	10.6%	7.5%	7.6%	6.4%	6.2%	4.9%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils	30.9%	28.9%	26.3%	26.1%	25.2%	22.3%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 81.2% 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.

Attendance81.2%

Wales 89.6%

Official name: 100 minus overall absence

Trend

Attendance

2019 to 2025

Since 2019: -8.5%Steady overall

Staff and budget

From the Welsh Government's My Local School, 2025/26.

Budget per pupil£7,0002025/26, Wales £5,956

Trend

Budget per pupil (£)

2020 to 2026

Since 2020: +107Steady overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £1,044 more than the Welsh average for secondary schools. Small and rural schools tend to get more per pupil.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m27412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences

Local crime rate178 per 1,000 people96% higher than the England average

Typical house price£269,475Cardiff

Nearest bus stop80 mDew Crescent, 13 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

School	Type	Distance	Pupils	Ofsted	Score
Fitzalan High School	Council	1.1 miles	1,833	Estyn, no grade	70	Compare
Cantonian High School	Council	1.2 miles	947	Estyn, no grade	56	Compare
Mary Immaculate R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	1.3 miles	871	Estyn, no grade	89	Compare
The Bishop Of Llandaff C.I.W. High School	Church in Wales	1.5 miles	1,263	Estyn, no grade	100	Compare
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr	Council	1.6 miles	1,181	Estyn, no grade	58	Compare
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf	Council	1.8 miles	1,498	Estyn, no grade	93	Compare
Cathays High School	Council	2.4 miles	1,247	Estyn, no grade	88	Compare
Radyr Comprehensive School	Council	2.4 miles	1,426	Estyn, no grade	92	Compare

Secondary schools in Cardiff Best secondary schools in Wales

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Cardiff West Community 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.

Beats10%of schools with a similar mix of pupils

In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 3 is 27 points below the typical school in the group.

0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 29 · highest 89100

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 Cardiff West Community 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
Cantonian High School	Council	1.2 miles	947	Estyn, no grade	56	Compare
Mary Immaculate R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	1.3 miles	871	Estyn, no grade	89	Compare
Willows High School	Council	4.2 miles	809	Estyn, no grade	35	Compare
St Teilo's C.I.W. High School	Church in Wales	4.6 miles	1,375	Estyn, no grade	67	Compare
St Illtyds R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	5.9 miles	990	Estyn, no grade	73	Compare
Ysgol Afon Wen	Council	7.8 miles	1,165	Estyn, no grade	53	Compare
Bedwas High School	Council	8.2 miles	666	Estyn, no grade	47	Compare
Ysgol Bro Taf	Council	11.0 miles	902	Estyn, no grade	68	Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 3 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 3% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 4. 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%	well below	-0.64	2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 212 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils	25%	in line	+0.05	Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 212 pupils
Attendance and behaviour	20%	well below	-0.57	2024/25; 1,061 pupils
Direction of travel over five years	15%	below	-0.13	results and attendance falling 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 Cardiff West Community High School a good school?

The figures are weak. Cardiff West Community High School scores 3 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 10% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 4, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

How many pupils does Cardiff West Community High School have?

1,061 pupils aged 11 to 19.

Does Cardiff West Community 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: Penally Road, Caerau, Cardiff, CF5 5XP
Telephone: 029 2067 1444
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: Caerau
Constituency: Cardiff West
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened: 1 September 2017 (result of amalgamation)
URN: 402391 · School number 6814075 · UKPRN 10065688
Language: English medium school / provision
Formerly: Glyn Derw High School, Michaelston Community College

Official record My Local School Download this school's data (CSV)

Recent changes

13 September 2026TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
13 September 2026Pupil numbers changed from “1061” to “–”
13 September 2026Free school meals % changed from “59.1” to “–”
13 September 2026ReligiousCharacter 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.