Pen-Y-Dre High School
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Pen-Y-Dre High School is a council school in Merthyr Tydfil for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 893 pupils. We give it 31 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.
Gurnos Estate, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 9BY01685 351845All 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 | Merthyr Tydfil | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim) | 367 | 351 | 361 | 386 | 366 |
| English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score | 35.2 | 35.3 | 38.1 | 40.7 | 39.9 |
| Maths scoreNumeracy points score | 30.4 | 30.2 | 33.0 | 36.6 | 36.9 |
| Science scoreScience points score | 32.5 | 31.3 | 34.9 | 37.8 | 37.0 |
| Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score | 36.7 | 33.5 | 35.4 | 30.7 | 31.6 |
| Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals | 337 | 298 | 346 | 353 | 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 Merthyr Tydfil 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 | 32.2% | 32.5% | 32.9% | 32.0% | 31.4% | 30.3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN) | 25.7% | 22.6% | 24.8% | 18.0% | 40.6% | 44.2% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1.7% | 1.1% | 0.7% | – | – | 1.1% |
| Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils | 9.0% | 8.3% | 7.3% | 7.0% | 5.6% | 5.0% |
Attendance
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 86.3% 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, £169 less 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 0.8 miles | 989 | Estyn, no grade | 95 | Compare |
| Cyfarthfa High School | Council | 1.3 miles | 785 | Estyn, no grade | 54 | Compare |
| Afon Taf High School | Council | 4.3 miles | 798 | Estyn, no grade | 81 | Compare |
| Aberdare Community School | Council | 4.6 miles | 1,227 | Estyn, no grade | 20 | Compare |
| Idris Davies School 3 to 18 | Council | 4.8 miles | 812 | Estyn, no grade | 45 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Pen-Y-Dre 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 Pen-Y-Dre 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyfarthfa High School | Council | 1.3 miles | 785 | Estyn, no grade | 54 | Compare |
| Afon Taf High School | Council | 4.3 miles | 798 | Estyn, no grade | 81 | Compare |
| Idris Davies School 3 to 18 | Council | 4.8 miles | 812 | Estyn, no grade | 45 | Compare |
| Ebbw Fawr Learning Community | Council | 7.6 miles | 1,406 | Estyn, no grade | 76 | Compare |
| Heolddu Comprehensive School | Council | 8.0 miles | 724 | Estyn, no grade | 71 | Compare |
| The Lewis School | Council | 9.3 miles | 645 | Estyn, no grade | 53 | Compare |
| Ysgol Bro Taf | Council | 10.2 miles | 902 | Estyn, no grade | 68 | Compare |
| Porth Community School | Council | 10.6 miles | 927 | Estyn, no grade | 76 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 31 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 31% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 25 to 38. 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% | below | -0.27 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 178 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 25% | above | +0.22 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 178 pupils |
| Attendance and behaviour | 20% | well below | -0.23 | 2024/25; 893 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 15% | in line | -0.01 | 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 Pen-Y-Dre High School a good school?
The figures are weak. Pen-Y-Dre High School scores 31 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 25 to 38, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
How many pupils does Pen-Y-Dre High School have?
893 pupils aged 11 to 16.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Gurnos Estate, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 9BY
- Telephone
- 01685 351845
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Ward
- Gurnos
- Constituency
- Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 401826 · School number 6754012 · UKPRN 10008822
- 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 “893” to “–”
- Free school meals % changed from “32.2” 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.