School Chooser

Ysgol Bae Baglan

All-through · ages 3-16Council1,383 pupilsPort TalbotNeath Port Talbot
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
10
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 7 to 15
Out of 100. Better than 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Best nine GCSE grades score305Wales 366
Attendance90.6%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families31%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs39%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll1,383
NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Ysgol Bae Baglan is a council school in Port Talbot for pupils aged 3 to 16. It has 1,383 pupils. We give it 10 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is in English.

Seaway Parade, Port Talbot, SA12 7BL01639 508540All 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 score305
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score33.3
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score30.0
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score32.4
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 30430420232024: 29329320242025: 3053052025
Since 2023: +1Improving overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023Neath Port TalbotWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)305293304342366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score33.331.233.538.739.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score30.027.530.734.336.9
Science scoreScience points score32.431.330.534.337.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score28.030.829.126.331.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals232190220276308

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
232.3304.9
Gap 72.6England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
25.933.3
Gap 7.4
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
22.030.0
Gap 8.0
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
24.732.4
Gap 7.7
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 Neath Port Talbot 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 roll1,383
Pupils from low-income families31%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support39%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English or Welsh
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils7%
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 meals30.8%31.2%30.5%30.2%29.6%29.2%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)38.6%38.6%41.0%45.8%55.2%52.4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1.8%1.2%0.8%0.8%0.6%0.4%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils7.0%6.0%5.5%5.4%5.6%5.2%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.6% 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.

Attendance90.6%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 92.6%92.6%20192023: 88.0%88.0%20232024: 90.1%90.1%20242025: 90.6%90.6%2025
Since 2019: -2.0%Improving overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£7,4662025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 4,9984,99820202021: 5,1505,15020212022: 5,3605,36020222023: 5,5165,51620232024: 5,8905,89020242025: 6,2646,26420252026: 7,4667,4662026
Since 2020: +2,468Improving overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £1,510 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 m9012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate93 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average
Typical house price£161,250Neath Port Talbot
Nearest bus stop130 mAfandale, 10 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
YGG Rhos-AfanCouncil0.7 miles388Estyn, no gradeCompare
Baglan Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles270Estyn, no gradeCompare
St Therese's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.8 miles225Estyn, no gradeCompare
Awel Y Môr Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles354Estyn, no gradeCompare
St Joseph's Catholic Junior SchoolRoman Catholic1.2 miles166Estyn, no gradeCompare
Blaenbaglan Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles267Estyn, no gradeCompare
St Joseph's RC School and 6th Form CentreRoman Catholic1.3 miles835Estyn, no grade36Compare
Sandfields Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles249Estyn, no gradeCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ysgol Bae Baglan 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.

Beats8%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 10 is 38 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 48 · highest 95100

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 Ysgol Bae Baglan, 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
St Joseph's RC School and 6th Form CentreRoman Catholic1.3 miles835Estyn, no grade36Compare
Ysgol Cwm BrombilCouncil3.9 miles1,439Estyn, no grade93Compare
Cefn Hengoed Community SchoolCouncil4.4 miles906Estyn, no grade85Compare
Pentrehafod SchoolCouncil5.6 miles1,120Estyn, no grade17Compare
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn TaweCouncil6.7 miles873Estyn, no grade18Compare
Maesteg SchoolCouncil7.3 miles1,058Estyn, no grade44Compare
Cwmtawe Community SchoolCouncil7.4 miles1,047Estyn, no grade49Compare
Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro DurCouncil10.8 miles1,557Estyn, no grade57Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 10 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 10% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 7 to 15. 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%well below
-0.61
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 276 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%well below
-0.33
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 276 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%above
+0.07
2024/25; 1,383 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%above
+0.08
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 Ysgol Bae Baglan a good school?

The figures are weak. Ysgol Bae Baglan scores 10 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 7 to 15, 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 Ysgol Bae Baglan have?

1,383 pupils aged 3 to 16.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Seaway Parade, Port Talbot, SA12 7BL
Telephone
01639 508540
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
All-through school, ages 3-16
Religious character
None
Local authority
Neath Port Talbot
Ward
Sandfields West
Constituency
Aberafan Maesteg
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2016
URN
402380 · School number 6715500 · UKPRN 10062254
Language
English medium school / provision
Formerly
Traethmelyn Primary School, Glan Afan Comprehensive School, Sandfields Comprehensive School, Cwrt Sart Community Comprehensive School

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “AllThrough” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “1383” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “30.8” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from