Willows High School

Secondary · ages 11-16Council809 pupilsCardiff

School Chooser Score

In line with
similar schools

Likely range 29 to 47

Out of 100. Better than 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.

Best nine GCSE grades score339Wales 366

Attendance86.5%Wales 89.6%

Pupils from low-income families52%Wales 20%

Pupils with additional learning needs9%Wales 11%

Pupils on roll809

NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Willows High School is a council school in Cardiff for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 809 pupils. We give it 35 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 60% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Willows Avenue, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2YE029 2041 4243All 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.

Find this school's Estyn reports My Local School (Welsh Government)

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 score339

Wales 366

Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)

English or Welsh score33.3

Wales 39.9

Official name: Literacy points score

Maths score37.1

Wales 36.9

Official name: Numeracy points score

Science score28.9

Wales 37.0

Official name: Science points score

Trend

Best nine GCSE grades score

2023 to 2025

Since 2023: +3Improving overall

All GCSE measures, year by year

Measure	2025	2024	2023	Cardiff	Wales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)	339	315	336	380	366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score	33.3	32.9	33.7	41.4	39.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score	37.1	35.2	39.0	39.2	36.9
Science scoreScience points score	28.9	27.1	27.0	38.3	37.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score	30.3	30.8	33.2	21.6	31.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals	305	296	316	336	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

Best nine GCSE grades scoreLow-income pupils vs all pupils

304.6339.3

Gap 34.7England 57.9

Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

28.633.3

Gap 4.7

Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

32.737.1

Gap 4.4

Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils

23.128.9

Gap 5.8

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 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 roll809

Pupils from low-income families52%Three-year average; Wales 20%

Pupils getting extra support9%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%

Pupils learning English12%First language is not English or Welsh

Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils59%

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 1 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)

How the mix of pupils has changed

Year	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals	52.0%	54.8%	56.1%	53.4%	48.5%	43.8%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)	8.7%	7.8%	8.2%	11.1%	20.4%	30.4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language	11.9%	14.7%	20.3%	20.4%	22.5%	20.3%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils	59.2%	59.5%	58.5%	54.2%	53.6%	50.1%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 86.5% 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.

Attendance86.5%

Wales 89.6%

Official name: 100 minus overall absence

Trend

Attendance

2019 to 2025

Since 2019: -3.0%Improving overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£6,5312025/26, Wales £5,956

Trend

Budget per pupil (£)

2020 to 2026

Since 2020: +684Improving overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £575 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 m27912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences

Local crime rate108 per 1,000 people19% higher than the England average

Typical house price£269,475Cardiff

Nearest bus stop180 mMercia Road, 12 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

School	Type	Distance	Pupils	Ofsted	Score
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern	Council	1.7 miles	935	Estyn, no grade	61	Compare
St Teilo's C.I.W. High School	Church in Wales	2.0 miles	1,375	Estyn, no grade	67	Compare
Eastern High	Council	2.3 miles	1,185	Estyn, no grade	4	Compare
St Illtyds R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	2.5 miles	990	Estyn, no grade	73	Compare
Cathays High School	Council	2.6 miles	1,247	Estyn, no grade	88	Compare
Cardiff High School	Council	2.8 miles	1,794	Estyn, no grade	99	Compare
Fitzalan High School	Council	3.1 miles	1,833	Estyn, no grade	70	Compare
Corpus Christi Catholic High School	Roman Catholic	3.6 miles	1,132	Estyn, no grade	95	Compare

Secondary schools in Cardiff Best secondary schools in Wales

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Willows 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.

Beats60%of schools with a similar mix of pupils

In the upper half of its group. Its score of 35 is 11 points above the typical school in the group.

0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 25 · 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 Willows 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
St Teilo's C.I.W. High School	Church in Wales	2.0 miles	1,375	Estyn, no grade	67	Compare
St Illtyds R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	2.5 miles	990	Estyn, no grade	73	Compare
Cantonian High School	Council	4.2 miles	947	Estyn, no grade	56	Compare
Mary Immaculate R.C. High School	Roman Catholic	5.4 miles	871	Estyn, no grade	89	Compare
Bedwas High School	Council	7.7 miles	666	Estyn, no grade	47	Compare
Ysgol Afon Wen	Council	9.8 miles	1,165	Estyn, no grade	53	Compare
Ysgol Bro Taf	Council	12.5 miles	902	Estyn, no grade	68	Compare
The Lewis School	Council	13.6 miles	645	Estyn, no grade	53	Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 35 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 35% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 29 to 47. 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%	well below	-0.43	2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 161 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils	25%	well above	+0.35	Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 161 pupils
Attendance and behaviour	20%	well below	-0.22	2024/25; 809 pupils
Direction of travel over five years	15%	above	+0.11	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 Willows High School a good school?

It is about average. Willows High School scores 35 out of 100. That is in line with 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 29 to 47, 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 Willows High School have?

809 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: Willows Avenue, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2YE
Telephone: 029 2041 4243
Type of school: Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase: Secondary school, ages 11-16
Religious character: None
Local authority: Cardiff
Ward: Splott
Constituency: Cardiff South and Penarth
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN: 401876 · School number 6814041 · UKPRN 10013826
Language: English medium school / provision

Official record My Local School Download this school's data (CSV)

Recent changes

13 September 2026PhaseCode changed from “Secondary” to “Other”
13 September 2026TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
13 September 2026Pupil numbers changed from “809” to “–”
13 September 2026Free school meals % changed from “52.0” to “–”
13 September 2026ReligiousCharacter 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.