School Chooser

Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig

Secondary · ages 11-19Council587 pupilsSixth formCeredigion
School Chooser Score
82
Above
similar schools
Likely range 76 to 90
Out of 100. Better than 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Best nine GCSE grades score399Wales 366
Attendance93.8%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families6%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs8%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll587
NeighbourhoodAmong the wealthiest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig is a council school in Aberystwyth for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has 587 pupils. We give it 82 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is mainly in Welsh.

Ffordd Llanbadarn, Llangawsai, Aberystwyth, SY23 3QN01970 639499All 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 score399
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score44.9
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score41.4
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score41.4
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 38838820232024: 37737720242025: 3993992025
Since 2023: +10Improving overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023CeredigionWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)399377388361366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score44.943.044.641.039.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score41.437.339.137.436.9
Science scoreScience points score41.439.440.937.537.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score41.238.840.938.031.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals317305308

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, 2023

Best nine GCSE grades scoreLow-income pupils vs all pupils
316.6388.4
Gap 71.8England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
31.644.6
Gap 13.0
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
27.139.1
Gap 12.0
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
30.940.9
Gap 10.0
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 Ceredigion 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 roll587
Pupils from low-income families6%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support8%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils6%
LanguageWelsh mediumWelsh medium school / provision (including transitional)
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 meals5.9%6.1%6.3%5.8%5.4%5.2%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)7.8%12.1%16.0%24.4%36.9%37.4%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils5.7%4.6%3.4%2.3%2.2%2.4%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.8% 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.

Attendance93.8%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 95.0%95.0%20192023: 91.8%91.8%20232024: 92.6%92.6%20242025: 93.8%93.8%2025
Since 2019: -1.2%Improving overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£6,4372025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2020 to 2026
2020: 5,0605,06020202021: 5,2295,22920212022: 5,2385,23820222023: 5,2735,27320232024: 5,6795,67920242025: 5,8615,86120252026: 6,4376,4372026
Since 2020: +1,377Improving overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £481 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 m6912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate82 per 1,000 people10% lower than the England average
Typical house price£230,000Ceredigion
Nearest bus stop60 mPenweddig School, 13 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
Ysgol PenglaisCouncil880 m1,120Estyn, no grade41Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig 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.

Beats70%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 82 is 13 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 11 · middle 69 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 82 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 82% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 76 to 90. 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%above
+0.28
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 117 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%in line
-0.04
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 117 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%well above
+0.29
2024/25; 587 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%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 Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig scores 82 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 76 to 90, 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 Gyfun Penweddig have?

587 pupils aged 11 to 19.

Does Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig 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
Ffordd Llanbadarn, Llangawsai, Aberystwyth, SY23 3QN
Telephone
01970 639499
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
Ceredigion
Ward
Llanbadarn Fawr
Constituency
Ceredigion Preseli
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
URN
401739 · School number 6674048 · UKPRN 10009306
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 “587” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “5.9” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “None” to “–”

Where these figures come from