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Best schools in Powys: how they compare

Powys has 95 open schools - 65 primary and 8 secondary among them - teaching about 15,837 pupils. 24% teach through Welsh or in both languages, and 5 are in Estyn follow-up. Here is every school side by side, with what Estyn found when it last visited.

Why there is no league table in Wales

Wales stopped publishing school performance tables, and since September 2022 Estyn, the schools inspectorate, no longer sums a school up in one word like "Excellent" or "Good". Each report describes what pupils learn, how well they are taught and what the school should do next. So a ranking of the best schools in Powys would rest on someone's opinion, not published data. What you can compare is set out below: whether Estyn has asked a school to improve, what its latest report says, the language your child would be taught in, and the kind of intake each school has.

Estyn follow-up

5 of 95 schools are in follow-up; Estyn returns to check their progress.

  • No follow-up79 (83%)
  • Significant improvement2 (2%)
  • Special measures3 (3%)
  • No report on file11 (12%)

Source: Estyn inspection reports

Language of teaching

24% Welsh-medium or dual language in Powys, against 30% across Wales.

  • Welsh-medium13 (14%)
  • Dual language10 (11%)
  • English-medium53 (56%)
  • Not recorded19 (20%)

Source: Welsh Government school data

Schools by stage in Powys

Click a stage to filter the list below.

  • Primary65
  • Middle3
  • Secondary8
  • Special3

Powys against Wales

The typical (median) school in the council, set against the typical school in Wales.

PowysWales
Pupils eligible for free meals (3-year)
11.6%
18.6%
Pupils with additional learning needs
9.3%
8.1%
Budget per pupil
£5,905
£5,801

Source: Welsh Government school census 2025/26 and school budgets 2026-27

What the numbers say about schools in Powys

At the typical school in Powys, 11.6% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals over the last three years, 7.0 points below the Welsh figure. Every primary pupil in Wales now gets a free lunch, so this measures eligibility, the usual guide to how disadvantaged an intake is. 9.3% of pupils at the typical school have additional learning needs (1.2 points above the Welsh figure). Schools here receive about £5,905 per pupil, £104 above the Welsh figure. Pupil numbers have fallen by 0.8% since 2020/21. The largest school is Ysgol Calon Cymru, with 945 pupils.

None of these figures tells you whether a school is good. A school with a more disadvantaged intake can be doing outstanding work, and a small rural school with a high budget per pupil is often simply small. Use them to understand the setting, then read what Estyn wrote.

Every school in Powys

Schools not in Estyn follow-up first, then the most recently inspected. This is not a ranking by quality.

95 of 95 schools shown

Choosing and applying for a school in Powys

Start with Estyn. Its report on each school is short, plain and recent, and the recommendations at the end tell you what the inspectors want to see improve. A school in special measures or in need of significant improvement is being revisited, and some turn round quickly, so check the date and read what has changed. Then visit: an hour in a school tells you more about how it feels than any figure.

Decide early whether you want Welsh-medium education. Every school in Wales teaches Welsh to 16, but a Welsh-medium school teaches most lessons through Welsh, and children from English-speaking homes join from nursery and reception every year. Moving between the two later is harder, so the choice usually matters most at the start of primary school.

Applications for community schools go to Powys council, not the school; voluntary aided church schools can run their own admissions, so check each one. Welsh councils set their own closing dates and most give priority to children living in a school's catchment area, so check which catchment your address falls in before you rank your choices. If you are applying for a secondary place, look at the feeder primaries too: many Powys secondaries take most of their pupils from a named group of primary schools.

Questions parents ask about schools in Powys

How many schools are there in Powys?

Powys has 95 open schools on School Signal, including 65 primary and 8 secondary schools, teaching about 15,837 pupils (school census 2025/26).

Which schools in Powys are in Estyn follow-up?

5 schools are in Estyn follow-up: Presteigne C.P. School (significant improvement), Archdeacon Griffiths C.I.W. Primary School (significant improvement), Welshpool High School (special measures), Ysgol Maes-Y-Dderwen (special measures), Llanidloes High School (special measures). Follow-up means Estyn returns to check progress; it is worth reading the report before ruling a school in or out.

How many Welsh-medium schools are there in Powys?

13 schools in Powys teach mainly through Welsh and 10 teach in both languages - 24% of the council's schools, against 30% across Wales. You don't need to speak Welsh at home for your child to attend one.

Is there a school league table for Powys?

No. Wales stopped publishing school league tables and Estyn no longer gives schools an overall grade, so any "top ten" list for Powys is someone's own judgement. Compare Estyn's reports, the language of teaching and how far you are from each school instead.

Sources: Estyn inspection reports (Crown copyright, quoted with acknowledgement); Welsh Government school census and school budget data, Open Government Licence v3.0.