School Chooser

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School

Secondary · ages 11-16Council848 pupilsSwansea
School Chooser Score
70
Above
similar schools
Likely range 62 to 77
Out of 100. Better than 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Best nine GCSE grades score373Wales 366
Attendance93.6%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families15%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs7%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll848
NeighbourhoodAbove-average income areaWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School is a council school in Swansea for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 848 pupils. We give it 70 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Caecerrig Road, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8PD01792 884556All 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.

Best nine GCSE grades score373
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score38.2
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score38.1
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score37.5
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 39939920232024: 39839820242025: 3733732025
Since 2023: -25Declining overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023SwanseaWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)373398399363366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score38.241.342.138.739.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score38.141.641.436.136.9
Science scoreScience points score37.541.440.636.137.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score43.345.444.336.131.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals318332316323308

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
317.5373.4
Gap 55.9England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
31.738.2
Gap 6.5
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
31.038.1
Gap 7.1
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
27.037.5
Gap 10.5
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 Swansea 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 roll848
Pupils from low-income families15%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support7%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils6%
LanguageEnglish mediumEnglish medium school / provision
NeighbourhoodAbove-average income areaIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 7 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals15.2%15.5%16.5%16.2%15.4%14.5%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)6.6%17.3%20.3%23.0%25.4%26.6%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0.7%0.6%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils5.7%5.3%5.4%5.0%4.3%4.7%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.6% 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.

Attendance93.6%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 94.5%94.5%20192023: 92.6%92.6%20232024: 93.0%93.0%20242025: 93.6%93.6%2025
Since 2019: -0.9%Declining overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£6,2312025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 4,7114,71120202021: 5,1715,17120212022: 5,3005,30020222023: 5,5815,58120232024: 5,6025,60220242025: 5,7675,76720252026: 6,2316,2312026
Since 2020: +1,520Declining overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £275 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 m19412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate55 per 1,000 people40% lower than the England average
Typical house price£202,000Swansea
Nearest bus stop60 mThe Hollies, 18 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
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Penyrheol Comprehensive SchoolCouncil2.8 miles860Estyn, no grade11Compare
Bryngwyn Comprehensive SchoolCouncil4.7 miles1,045Estyn, no grade4Compare
Ysgol Gyfun GwyrCouncil4.8 miles1,127Estyn, no grade69Compare
St John Lloyd R C SchoolRoman Catholic4.8 miles465Estyn, no grade24Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Pontarddulais Comprehensive 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.

Beats60%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 70 is 6 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 11 · middle 64 · highest 100100

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 Pontarddulais Comprehensive 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Bishopston Comprehensive SchoolCouncil9.1 miles1,128Estyn, no grade98Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 70 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 70% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 62 to 77. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years40%above
+0.19
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 169 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%in line
+0.05
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 169 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%well above
+0.28
2024/25; 848 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%well below
-0.18
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 Pontarddulais Comprehensive School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Pontarddulais Comprehensive School scores 70 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 60% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 62 to 77, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

How many pupils does Pontarddulais Comprehensive School have?

848 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
Caecerrig Road, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8PD
Telephone
01792 884556
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Secondary school, ages 11-16
Religious character
None
Local authority
Swansea
Ward
Pontarddulais
Constituency
Gower
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
401772 · School number 6704072 · UKPRN 10013798
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 “848” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “15.2” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from