School Chooser

St Illtyds R.C. High School

Secondary · ages 11-16Roman Catholic990 pupilsCardiff
School Chooser Score
73
Above
similar schools
Likely range 64 to 78
Out of 100. Better than 94% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Best nine GCSE grades score368Wales 366
Attendance89.7%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families39%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs4%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll990
NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

St Illtyds R.C. High School is a Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) in Cardiff for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 990 pupils. We give it 73 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 94% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Newport Road, Rumney, Cardiff, CF3 1XQ029 2077 8174All 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 score368
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score39.3
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score36.6
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score34.2
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 37337320232024: 36736720242025: 3683682025
Since 2023: -5Steady overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023CardiffWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)368367373380366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score39.338.740.041.439.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score36.636.937.639.236.9
Science scoreScience points score34.235.737.638.337.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score1.630.837.321.631.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals349323316336308

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
348.6368.2
Gap 19.6England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
38.239.3
Gap 1.1
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
33.236.6
Gap 3.4
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
30.534.2
Gap 3.7
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. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first.

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 roll990
Pupils from low-income families39%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support4%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English or Welsh
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils47%
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 2 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals38.6%40.3%39.0%36.2%31.8%29.0%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)3.7%3.3%2.8%3.8%19.8%27.4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language7.5%6.7%6.1%5.3%5.4%6.3%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils47.1%45.8%41.7%37.1%34.7%32.7%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.7% 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.

Attendance89.7%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 93.3%93.3%20192023: 87.5%87.5%20232024: 88.9%88.9%20242025: 89.7%89.7%2025
Since 2019: -3.6%Steady overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£5,5862025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 4,9624,96220202021: 5,0135,01320212022: 4,7954,79520222023: 4,9904,99020232024: 5,2295,22920242025: 5,3555,35520252026: 5,5865,5862026
Since 2020: +624Steady overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £370 less 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 m57812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate111 per 1,000 people22% higher than the England average
Typical house price£269,475Cardiff
Nearest bus stop140 mSt Illtyds School, 30 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
Eastern HighCouncil310 m1,185Estyn, no grade4Compare
St Teilo's C.I.W. High SchoolChurch in Wales1.4 miles1,375Estyn, no grade67Compare
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro EdernCouncil2.1 miles935Estyn, no grade61Compare
Corpus Christi Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic2.3 miles1,132Estyn, no grade95Compare
Willows High SchoolCouncil2.5 miles809Estyn, no grade35Compare
Cardiff High SchoolCouncil2.6 miles1,794Estyn, no grade99Compare
Llanishen High SchoolCouncil3.3 miles1,715Estyn, no grade90Compare
Cathays High SchoolCouncil3.5 miles1,247Estyn, no grade88Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Illtyds R.C. 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.

Beats94%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 73 is 44 points above 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 St Illtyds R.C. 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Mary Immaculate R.C. High SchoolRoman Catholic7.2 miles871Estyn, no grade89Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 73 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 73% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 64 to 78. 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
-0.09
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 198 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%well above
+0.51
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 198 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%in line
0.00
2024/25; 990 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%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 St Illtyds R.C. High School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Illtyds R.C. High School scores 73 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 94% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 64 to 78, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

How many pupils does St Illtyds R.C. High School have?

990 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
Newport Road, Rumney, Cardiff, CF3 1XQ
Telephone
029 2077 8174
Type of school
Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Secondary school, ages 11-16
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Local authority
Cardiff
Ward
Rumney
Constituency
Cardiff East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
401887 · School number 6814600 · UKPRN 10013797
Language
English medium school / provision

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “Secondary” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Voluntary aided school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “990” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “38.6” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “Roman Catholic” to “–”

Where these figures come from