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Original poster

Good schools in Caerphilly, Wales

52 replies

Fmblondon · 04/01/2025 08:16

What are the schools in Caerphilly, Wales (UK) like? We are considering moving there and are looking for good primary and secondary schools there if anyone can help? I can't seem to find clear information on the performance of the schools in the town.
Sidenote: We are also looking at Cardiff, Barry, Newport, Caerleon and Usk as other nearby options to move to. Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
chocolateisnecessary · 05/01/2025 14:37

Fmblondon · 05/01/2025 14:34

Thanks for all your invaluable input so far. A related question; do you have a site where you can check exam performance data for schools? Some schools have it clearly on their website, but some are quite opaque. Is there a national, independent site which details all the performance? I've googled my head off looking, but can't find what I'm after. Thank you!

Estyn is the Welsh equivalent to Ofsted. Some inspections are still catching up after Covid I think though. WalesOnline do an annual traffic light thing for all schools too I think. If you google it, that might come up.

Dmsandfloatydress · 05/01/2025 14:37

Wales doesn't have league tables. Essentially if they are advertising their pass rates then the school generally has high pass rates. If they are opaque you can deduce that they are average at best.

Original poster
Fmblondon · 05/01/2025 14:48

Ah ok, I see. I guess I will call the schools and ask them personally for their data. I guess if they can't provide it, that says it all!

OP posts:
CantHoldMeDown · 05/01/2025 14:59

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

2025uk · 05/01/2025 15:01

As your children are still young, that puts you in a better position re schools as when you said you were looking at secondary schools I thought you might have a child in year 9 and it would be difficult to find a place. So with your children so small you can really plan ahead!

VelvetWildflower · 05/01/2025 15:03

Caerleon and Usk are fine. Avoid Newport and Barry. Caerphilly isn't great. Some areas of Cardiff are great.

MaryGreenhill · 05/01/2025 15:33

OP, if you can push the budget to buy in Caerleon, Usk,
Monmouth ,
Abergavenny or Crickhowell then do it .
The schools there are excellent, from primary to High School . Good luck.
I have worked in Caerphilly and it's rough there

VeryVeryCross · 05/01/2025 16:42

It was my experience that in more affluent areas, a great deal of money was spent on tutoring, which then looks great for the school results. I'd be very wary of exam result stats alone as a reflection of the quality of teaching in schools in those areas. There are certainly plenty of tutoring businesses with lots of students in North Cardiff, for example.

NotThisOldChestnutAgain · 05/01/2025 22:22

Simplelobsterhat · 05/01/2025 14:09

I live in North Cardiff and have always thought Caerphilly seems a nice place to live, so not sure why pp called it a shithole. All towns have nicer bits and less nice bits. People who I know who lived there send their kids to Cardinal Newman secondary, which I believe is a catholic school but they are not commited Catholics. that seems a popular school. I don't know much about the schools in Caerphilly itself sorry.

If you wanted Radyr Comp in Cardiff, Tongwynlais is a very short drive to Caerphilly and in catchment, and has a lovely little primary. Or parts of Whitchurch catchment eg Rhwbina, or Llanishen catchment eg Thornhill also short drives over the mountain to Caerphilly.

You won't get in Cardiff High unless you live v close - even people who are officially in catchment get turned away most years.

Have also seen and heard good things about Bassaleg or Caerleon in Newport, and Bassaleg catchment not too far from Caerphilly.

My children went to radyr( left 10 to 12 years ago), certainly according to them and their friends, at that point all the "rough kids" lived in Tongwynlais. No idea if it's still viewed the same way.
Re Llanishen, in the last inspection before Estyn removed the categorisation in inspection reports, it was rated inadequate overall.

Simplelobsterhat · 05/01/2025 22:36

NotThisOldChestnutAgain · 05/01/2025 22:22

My children went to radyr( left 10 to 12 years ago), certainly according to them and their friends, at that point all the "rough kids" lived in Tongwynlais. No idea if it's still viewed the same way.
Re Llanishen, in the last inspection before Estyn removed the categorisation in inspection reports, it was rated inadequate overall.

Show quote history

Ha, probably, but that just tells you something about how middle class the Radyr Catchment is as a whole- Tongwynlais would not be counted as rough in comparison with most areas! Lovely place to live.

Original poster
Fmblondon · 06/01/2025 14:18

Muchtoomuchtodo · 04/01/2025 17:28

There are lots of excellent schools in the Vale of Glamorgan, both Welsh and English medium. I don’t know about other areas sorry.

@NotThisOldChestnutAgain wipes out whole towns claiming that they’re shitholes. I couldn’t disagree more. There are definitely some less desirable parts of the towns that they’ve mentioned but I wouldn’t completely rule out any of them.

What’s your budget @Fmblondon and what are you after house wise?

Thanks so much for your input. Budget around £400k and minimum 3 bedrooms (in a perfect world 4+ bedrooms), generous garden, space to have family round! Hence looking around at surrounding areas as you can get more for your money (but schools are a spanner in the works!).

OP posts:
Original poster
Fmblondon · 06/01/2025 14:40

2025uk · 05/01/2025 13:23

I would definitely find out about whether the schools in those areas have spaces as nearly every school in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan is currently full in most year groups. Even if you move into the local area, if there is no space your child would have to go to a school on the outskirts of the city, certainly in the case of Cardiff.

Note: I am not sure if that is true of Welsh language education if you were interested in that.

What year groups are your children in? Are you moving mid-year?

My children are still young primary age (and also in nursery) but I am researching secondaries now because we don't necessarily want to have to move again in 4/5 years time when my eldest will be going to secondary.

OP posts:
CantHoldMeDown · 06/01/2025 15:56

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

NotThisOldChestnutAgain · 06/01/2025 16:05

You're not going to find even your minimum requirements on that budget for Cardiff high or Cowbridge so you can rule those out. There might be the odd one that comes up in Radyr catchment but for that money it will be in need of significant work or would have very small rooms and a miniature garden on a new build estate.

Dmsandfloatydress · 06/01/2025 16:08

Budget works for abergavenny and crickhowell. Also Bassaleg.

VeryVeryCross · 06/01/2025 17:18

You could get a property within that budget in Whitchurch/Rhiwbina but there'd be compromises eg on work needed, size of garden, location etc.

MotherOfCatBoy · 08/01/2025 14:20

Have you visited OP? Pp are giving mixed views and I can see why; I grew up in the Rhymney Valley north of Caerphilly and moved to Cardiff later. Generally the Valleys are much more deprived (by official measurements) than Cardiff (though that has some areas that are also struggling like any city). Then north and east of the old industrial areas (Crickhowell, Monmouth, Usk), these are traditional rural market towns, completely different. They are also surrounded by mountains and can be far from cities, but lovely places to live.
Caerphilly itself is defined by its mountain that separates it from Cardiff on the coastal plain; it has a great town centre dominated by its Castle, and there are some lovely homes in the surrounding hillsides, towns and villages. But it also has large estates, some of which are as deprived as those in Merthyr or Ely (Cardiff suburb).
If you can, take a couple of days and do a tour.

Original poster
Fmblondon · 09/01/2025 08:10

MotherOfCatBoy · 08/01/2025 14:20

Have you visited OP? Pp are giving mixed views and I can see why; I grew up in the Rhymney Valley north of Caerphilly and moved to Cardiff later. Generally the Valleys are much more deprived (by official measurements) than Cardiff (though that has some areas that are also struggling like any city). Then north and east of the old industrial areas (Crickhowell, Monmouth, Usk), these are traditional rural market towns, completely different. They are also surrounded by mountains and can be far from cities, but lovely places to live.
Caerphilly itself is defined by its mountain that separates it from Cardiff on the coastal plain; it has a great town centre dominated by its Castle, and there are some lovely homes in the surrounding hillsides, towns and villages. But it also has large estates, some of which are as deprived as those in Merthyr or Ely (Cardiff suburb).
If you can, take a couple of days and do a tour.

Thank you for your reply!Yes, we've been, but need to do a better tour of it really. I think its livable, and I'm told its being invested in more now. I'm more concerned about whether there is any decent school for the children though, as it doesn't matter how much we like it if there's no school we'd feel confident putting our children in. I'm researching St Martins High school; does anyone have a child there or any feedback? Its last Estyn report was good but I've asked them twice for exam data and still nothing forthcoming.

OP posts:
VeryVeryCross · 09/01/2025 17:44

Have pm'd you OP

Berthatydfil · 11/01/2025 15:01

VeryVeryCross · 09/01/2025 17:46

There is no way I would send my child to this school.

2025uk · 11/01/2025 15:50

Op is there any reason why you chose Caerphilly? Do you have any links there? I would choose Cardiff if I were you although obviously your budget would not stretch so far.

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