School Chooser

Queen Elizabeth High

Secondary · ages 11-19MixedCouncil1,289 pupilsSixth formCarmarthenshire
School Chooser Score
45
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 35 to 57
Out of 100. Better than 40% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Best nine GCSE grades score374Wales 366
Attendance87.7%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families17%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs10%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll1,289
NeighbourhoodAbove-average income areaWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Queen Elizabeth High is a council school in Carmarthenshire for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 1,289 pupils. We give it 45 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Llansteffan Road, Johnstown Road, Carmarthenshire, SA31 3NL01267 245300qehs.orgAll 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 score374
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score39.7
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score36.8
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score37.8
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 36036020232024: 37137120242025: 3743742025
Since 2023: +14Improving overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023CarmarthenshireWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)374371360345366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score39.739.239.539.539.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score36.838.037.736.136.9
Science scoreScience points score37.838.838.035.437.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score37.336.032.632.631.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals325294234272308

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
324.7374.2
Gap 49.5England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
32.439.7
Gap 7.3
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
30.036.8
Gap 6.8
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
28.937.8
Gap 8.9
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 Carmarthenshire 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 roll1,289
Pupils from low-income families17%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support10%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English or Welsh
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils18%
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 8 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals17.0%19.3%21.4%21.7%19.7%17.9%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)10.1%9.6%24.0%34.8%37.6%39.0%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2.4%2.1%1.8%0.9%2.6%2.6%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils17.8%17.4%15.2%13.5%13.2%11.6%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.7% 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.

Attendance87.7%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 90.0%90.0%20192023: 85.1%85.1%20232024: 86.1%86.1%20242025: 87.7%87.7%2025
Since 2019: -2.3%Improving overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£8,0372025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 5,4955,49520202021: 6,0856,08520212022: 6,0906,09020222023: 6,5036,50320232024: 6,8646,86420242025: 7,3557,35520252026: 8,0378,0372026
Since 2020: +2,542Improving overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £2,081 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 m13612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate246 per 1,000 people170% higher than the England average
Typical house price£192,500Carmarthenshire
Nearest bus stop70 mQueen Elizabeth High School, 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
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro MyrddinCouncil0.9 miles929Estyn, no grade68Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Queen Elizabeth High 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.

Beats40%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 45 is 8 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 7 · middle 53 · 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 Queen Elizabeth High, 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
Pontarddulais Comprehensive SchoolCouncil15.3 miles848Estyn, no grade70Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 45 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 45% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 35 to 57. 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%in line
+0.06
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 257 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%below
-0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 257 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%below
-0.13
2024/25; 1,289 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%above
+0.10
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 Queen Elizabeth High a good school?

It is about average. Queen Elizabeth High scores 45 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 40% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 35 to 57, 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 Queen Elizabeth High have?

1,289 pupils aged 11 to 19.

Does Queen Elizabeth High 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
Llansteffan Road, Johnstown Road, Carmarthenshire, SA31 3NL
Telephone
01267 245300
Website
www.qehs.org
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Secondary school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Local authority
Carmarthenshire
Ward
Carmarthen Town North and South
Constituency
Caerfyrddin
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2005 (new provision)
URN
402085 · School number 6694063 · UKPRN 10021618
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 “1289” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “17.0” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from