School Chooser

Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni

Secondary · ages 11-19Council1,785 pupilsSixth formCaerphilly
School Chooser Score
42
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 33 to 53
Out of 100. Better than 38% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Best nine GCSE grades score374Wales 366
Attendance90.0%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families14%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs11%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll1,785
NeighbourhoodBelow-average income areaWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni is a council school in Caerphilly for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 1,785 pupils. We give it 42 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 38% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is mainly in Welsh.

Heol Gelli Haf, Fleur De Lys, Blackwood, Caerphilly, NP12 3JQ01443 875227All 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 score41.6
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score37.3
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score37.4
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 36936920232024: 37137120242025: 3743742025
Since 2023: +5Steady overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023CaerphillyWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)374371369354366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score41.641.142.537.839.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score37.338.238.034.936.9
Science scoreScience points score37.437.437.734.537.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score43.841.141.531.331.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals303293292303308

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
303.3374.1
Gap 70.8England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
34.441.6
Gap 7.2
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
27.537.3
Gap 9.8
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
26.637.4
Gap 10.8
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 mainly in Welsh.

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 roll1,785
Pupils from low-income families14%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support11%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils2%
LanguageWelsh mediumWelsh medium school / provision (including transitional)
NeighbourhoodBelow-average income areaIf Wales's neighbourhoods were split into ten groups from poorest to wealthiest, this one is in group 3 (Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025)
How the mix of pupils has changed
Year202520242023202220212020
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals13.9%15.2%15.7%15.1%14.2%13.5%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)11.1%9.0%9.4%20.8%20.4%19.2%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils2.0%1.9%1.8%1.7%1.4%1.3%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.0% 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.

Attendance90.0%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 95.2%95.2%20192023: 89.6%89.6%20232024: 89.8%89.8%20242025: 90.0%90.0%2025
Since 2019: -5.2%Steady overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£6,2362025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 4,5564,55620202021: 4,8194,81920212022: 4,8924,89220222023: 5,0105,01020232024: 5,4025,40220242025: 5,7565,75620252026: 6,2366,2362026
Since 2020: +1,680Steady overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £280 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 m14612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate111 per 1,000 people22% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Caerphilly
Nearest bus stop220 mYsgol Gufyn Cwm Rhymni, 7 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
Blackwood Comprehensive SchoolCouncil0.9 miles957Estyn, no grade29Compare
The Lewis SchoolCouncil0.9 miles645Estyn, no grade53Compare
Islwyn High SchoolCouncil1.7 miles1,047Estyn, no grade48Compare
Heolddu Comprehensive SchoolCouncil2.3 miles724Estyn, no grade71Compare
Newbridge SchoolCouncil3.2 miles1,010Estyn, no grade55Compare
Bedwas High SchoolCouncil5.0 miles666Estyn, no grade47Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni 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.

Beats38%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 42 is 12 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 54 · 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 Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, 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
Newbridge SchoolCouncil3.2 miles1,010Estyn, no grade55Compare
Afon Taf High SchoolCouncil6.5 miles798Estyn, no grade81Compare
Ebbw Fawr Learning CommunityCouncil7.7 miles1,406Estyn, no grade76Compare
Ysgol Garth OlwgCouncil8.0 miles1,210Estyn, no grade78Compare
West Monmouth Comprehensive SchoolCouncil8.1 miles1,149Estyn, no grade57Compare
Ysgol Gymraeg GwynllywCouncil8.6 miles808Estyn, no grade79Compare
Cyfarthfa High SchoolCouncil9.0 miles785Estyn, no grade54Compare
Bryncelynnog Comprehensive SchoolCouncil9.3 miles1,348Estyn, no grade50Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 42 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 42% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 33 to 53. 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; 357 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%below
-0.20
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 357 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%in line
+0.03
2024/25; 1,785 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%in line
-0.02
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 Gyfun Cwm Rhymni a good school?

It is about average. Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni scores 42 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 38% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 33 to 53, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

How many pupils does Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni have?

1,785 pupils aged 11 to 19.

Does Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni 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
Heol Gelli Haf, Fleur De Lys, Blackwood, Caerphilly, NP12 3JQ
Telephone
01443 875227
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
Cefn Fforest and Pengam
Constituency
Caerphilly
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
URN
401844 · School number 6764103 · UKPRN 10008865
Language
Welsh medium school / provision (including transitional)

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “Secondary” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “1785” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “13.9” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from