School Chooser

Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw

All-through · ages 3-19CouncilNot available808 pupilsSixth formTorfaen
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
79
Above
similar schools
Likely range 74 to 89
Out of 100. Better than 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Best nine GCSE grades score379Wales 366
Attendance94.4%Wales 89.6%
Pupils from low-income families15%Wales 20%
Pupils with additional learning needs22%Wales 11%
Pupils on roll808
NeighbourhoodAmong the poorest areasWelsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025

Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw is a council school in Torfaen for pupils aged 3 to 19. It has 808 pupils. We give it 79 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Teaching is mainly in Welsh.

Heol Folly, Trefddyn, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 8JD01495 750405All 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 score379
Wales 366
Official name: Capped 9 points score (interim)
English or Welsh score41.9
Wales 39.9
Official name: Literacy points score
Maths score36.7
Wales 36.9
Official name: Numeracy points score
Science score38.1
Wales 37.0
Official name: Science points score
Trend
Best nine GCSE grades score
2023 to 2025
2023: 37837820232024: 37637620242025: 3793792025
Since 2023: +1Improving overall
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023TorfaenWales
Best nine GCSE grades scoreCapped 9 points score (interim)379376378360366
English or Welsh scoreLiteracy points score41.940.942.338.039.9
Maths scoreNumeracy points score36.733.836.234.336.9
Science scoreScience points score38.135.735.135.937.0
Welsh Baccalaureate scoreSkills Challenge Certificate points score32.835.638.334.831.6
Best nine GCSE score: low-income pupilsCapped 9, eligible for free school meals341344354311308

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
340.6378.9
Gap 38.3England 57.9
Literacy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
37.341.9
Gap 4.6
Numeracy pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
32.636.7
Gap 4.1
Science pointsLow-income pupils vs all pupils
33.438.1
Gap 4.7
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. As a Not available school it may put families of that faith first.

Teaching is mainly in Welsh.

You apply through Torfaen 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 roll808
Pupils from low-income families15%Three-year average; Wales 20%
Pupils getting extra support22%Additional learning needs; Wales 11%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupils1%
LanguageWelsh mediumWelsh medium school / provision (including transitional)
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 meals14.6%15.3%16.2%17.2%15.5%14.1%
Pupils getting extra supportAdditional learning needs (ALN)22.2%13.0%27.4%59.0%50.0%47.8%
Black, Asian and minority ethnic pupilsBAME pupils0.9%1.1%0.9%1.1%1.9%3.5%

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.4% 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.

Attendance94.4%
Wales 89.6%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Trend
Attendance
2019 to 2025
2019: 94.1%94.1%20192023: 89.4%89.4%20232024: 91.9%91.9%20242025: 94.4%94.4%2025
Since 2019: +0.3%Improving overall

Staff and budget

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

Budget per pupil£8,6852025/26, Wales £5,956
Trend
Budget per pupil (£)
2024 to 2026
2024: 7,7827,78220242025: 8,0288,02820252026: 8,6858,6852026
Since 2024: +903Improving overall

The budget is the money the council gave the school to spend per pupil in 2025/26, £2,729 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 m15212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate123 per 1,000 people35% higher than the England average
Typical house price£195,000Torfaen
Nearest bus stop60 mYsgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, 18 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
Penygarn Primary SchoolCouncil640 m368Estyn, no gradeCompare
George Street Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles409Estyn, no gradeCompare
Padre Pio RC PrimaryRoman Catholic0.8 miles183Estyn, no gradeCompare
St Alban's R.C. High SchoolRoman Catholic0.8 miles824Estyn, no grade79Compare
West Monmouth Comprehensive SchoolCouncil1.3 miles1,149Estyn, no grade57Compare
Cwmffrwdoer Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles220Estyn, no gradeCompare
Abersychan Comprehensive SchoolCouncil1.3 miles739Estyn, no grade3Compare
New Inn Primary SchoolCouncil2.0 miles566Estyn, no gradeCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw 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.

Beats88%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 79 is 26 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 7 · middle 53 · highest 97100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 79 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 79% of secondary schools in Wales. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 74 to 89. 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
+0.05
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 161 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils25%in line
+0.01
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 161 pupils
Attendance and behaviour20%well above
+0.33
2024/25; 808 pupils
Direction of travel over five years15%well above
+0.19
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 Gymraeg Gwynllyw a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw scores 79 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it in Wales. The score could fairly be anywhere from 74 to 89, 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 Gymraeg Gwynllyw have?

808 pupils aged 3 to 19.

Does Ysgol Gymraeg Gwynllyw 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 Folly, Trefddyn, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 8JD
Telephone
01495 750405
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
All-through school, ages 3-19, with sixth form
Religious character
Not available
Local authority
Torfaen
Ward
Trevethin and Penygarn
Constituency
Torfaen
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
401858 · School number 6785500 · UKPRN 10008867
Language
Welsh medium school / provision (including transitional)

Recent changes

  • PhaseCode changed from “AllThrough” to “Other”
  • TypeCode changed from “Community school” to “Welsh establishment”
  • Pupil numbers changed from “808” to “–”
  • Free school meals % changed from “14.6” to “–”
  • ReligiousCharacter changed from “Not available” to “–”

Where these figures come from