School Chooser

St Martin's School

Secondary · ages 11-19Council1,030 pupilsSixth formCaerphilly
School Chooser Score
49
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 37 to 59
Out of 100. Better than 46% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Best nine GCSE grades score372Wales 366
Attendance89.0%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families18%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs9%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll1,030
NeighbourhoodAmong the wealthiest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

St Martin's School is a council school in Caerphilly for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 1,030 pupils. We give it 49 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 46% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Hillside, Caerphilly, CF83 1UW029 2085 8050All 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 score372
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score38.7
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score37.1
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score35.7
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 39639620232024: 38238220242025: 3723722025
Since 2023: -23Steady overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023CaerphillyWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)372382396354366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score38.741.742.937.839.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score37.139.940.934.936.9
Science scoreScience points score35.737.239.234.537.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score0.00.00.031.331.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals297306287303308

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. None of the 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
296.6372.4
Gap 75.8England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
28.738.7
Gap 10.0
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
29.137.1
Gap 8.0
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
25.035.7
Gap 10.7
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.

Teaching is in English.

You apply through Caerphilly 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 roll1,030
Pupils from low-income families18%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support9%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English or Welsh
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils10%
LanguageEnglish mediumEnglish medium school / provision
NeighbourhoodAmong the wealthiest areasIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 9 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals18.3%19.5%21.1%20.2%18.7%17.3%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)8.6%8.5%7.9%16.2%19.4%19.7%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2.2%1.8%1.6%1.2%1.2%0.8%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils10.2%8.7%8.1%6.9%6.0%5.4%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.0% 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.

Attendance89.0%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 94.5%94.5%20192023: 87.2%87.2%20232024: 87.9%87.9%20242025: 89.0%89.0%2025
Since 2019: -5.5%Steady overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£6,0012025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 4,3404,34020202021: 4,5714,57120212022: 4,6224,62220222023: 4,6954,69520232024: 5,1555,15520242025: 5,4885,48820252026: 6,0016,0012026
Since 2020: +1,661Steady overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £45 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 m47312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate106 per 1,000 people17% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Caerphilly
Nearest bus stop180 mSt Martin's Church, 16 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
St Cenydd SchoolCouncil1.2 miles971Estyn, no grade5Compare
Bedwas High SchoolCouncil1.9 miles666Estyn, no grade47Compare
Llanishen High SchoolCouncil3.0 miles1,715Estyn, no grade90Compare
Corpus Christi Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic3.6 miles1,132Estyn, no grade95Compare
Cardinal Newman R.C. Comprehensive SchoolRoman Catholic3.7 miles980Estyn, no grade91Compare
Ysgol Afon WenCouncil3.7 miles1,165Estyn, no grade53Compare
Whitchurch High SchoolFoundation3.9 miles2,459Estyn, no grade66Compare
Cardiff High SchoolCouncil4.1 miles1,794Estyn, no grade99Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Martin's 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.

Beats46%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 49 is 11 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 6 · middle 60 · 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 St Martin's 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
Llanishen High SchoolCouncil3.0 miles1,715Estyn, no grade90Compare
Corpus Christi Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic3.6 miles1,132Estyn, no grade95Compare
Radyr Comprehensive SchoolCouncil4.3 miles1,426Estyn, no grade92Compare
Ysgol Garth OlwgCouncil4.5 miles1,210Estyn, no grade78Compare
The Bishop Of Llandaff C.I.W. High SchoolChurch in Wales5.1 miles1,263Estyn, no grade100Compare
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro EdernCouncil5.3 miles935Estyn, no grade61Compare
Ysgol Bro TafCouncil5.8 miles902Estyn, no grade68Compare
St Richard Gwyn R.C. High SchoolRoman Catholic10.3 miles817Estyn, no grade74Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 49 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 49% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 37 to 59. 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
+0.10
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 206 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%in line
+0.07
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 206 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%in line
-0.04
2024/25; 1,030 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%well below
-0.16
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 St Martin's School a good school?

It is about average. St Martin's School scores 49 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 46% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 37 to 59, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

How many pupils does St Martin's School have?

1,030 pupils aged 11 to 19.

Does St Martin's 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
Hillside, Caerphilly, CF83 1UW
Telephone
029 2085 8050
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
Caerphilly
Ward
St Martins
Constituency
Caerphilly
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
401837 · School number 6764070 · UKPRN 10008849
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 “1030” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “18.3” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from