Cardiff West Community High School, Cardiff
Cardiff West Community High School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in Cardiff.
- Estyn
- Not in follow-up
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Cardiff West Community High School in detail
School in Wales
Cardiff West Community High School is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.
It had 954 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.
57% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).
Of its pupils, 20% have additional learning needs (39% in 2020/21); 9% are learning English as an additional language; and 31% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Year groups range from 25 pupils (Year 13) to 223 (Year 10).
Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £7,101 per pupil, against £6,434 in 2021-22. It carried forward £371k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.
What Estyn said
Estyn's most recent full inspection report on Cardiff West Community High School dates from 2018.
Read the full Estyn report (school website)
Source: © Crown copyright, Estyn: "Inspection report Cardiff West Community High School 2019 (English only)". Quoted under Estyn's re-use terms.
Cardiff West Community High School in its own words
In its own words: "At Cardiff West, we are proud of our strong sense of purpose and the values that underpin everything we do: ambition , resilience and trust . These values shape the daily experience of our pupils, helping them grow into confident, capable individuals ready to make a positive impact in the world around them."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include coding, Lego and debating.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Cardiff West Community High School are Fitzalan High School (1.1 miles), Cantonian High School (1.2 miles), Mary Immaculate R.C. High School (1.3 miles) and The Bishop Of Llandaff C.I.W. High School (1.5 miles).
Fitzalan High SchoolCantonian High SchoolMary Immaculate R.C. High SchoolThe Bishop Of Llandaff C.I.W. High School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Waun-gron Park Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dew Crescent (after), 80 metres away.
Sources: Welsh Government school data and StatsWales (OGL); Estyn; NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
DfE GIASInspection
Schools in Wales are inspected by Estyn, not Ofsted. Read Cardiff West Community High School's Estyn reports.
About
Cardiff West Community High School is a secondary school in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, that teaches through the medium of English.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Cardiff West Community High School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Cardiff West Community High School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Cardiff West Community High School is in Cardiff; for families living there:
Apply to Cardiff for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Cardiff is 10 (the median across 144 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Questions parents ask about Cardiff West Community High School
What is the catchment area for Cardiff West Community High School?
In Wales catchment areas are set by the local authority, so Cardiff West Community High School has a defined catchment published by Cardiff. Living in it does not guarantee a place - when the school is oversubscribed Cardiff applies the published criteria, which usually put looked-after children first, then siblings, then distance - but it normally carries priority.
How do I apply to Cardiff West Community High School?
Apply through Cardiff, naming Cardiff West Community High School on your application. Welsh admission deadlines are set by each local authority rather than nationally, so check Cardiff's admissions pages for this year's closing date.
How many road collisions happen near Cardiff West Community High School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Cardiff is 10 (the median across 144 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cardiff West Community High School?
Cardiff West Community High School is at Penally Road, Caerau, Cardiff, CF5 5XP.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)