Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, Mountain Ash
Mountain Ash Comprehensive School is a secondary school for pupils in Mountain Ash.
- Estyn
- Not in follow-up
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Mountain Ash Comprehensive School in detail
School in Wales
Mountain Ash Comprehensive 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 835 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.
33% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).
Of its pupils, 7% have additional learning needs; and 4% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Year groups range from 19 pupils (Year 13) to 190 (Year 9).
Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £6,547 per pupil, against £4,932 in 2021-22. It carried forward £8k of reserves at the end of 2024-25.
What Estyn said
Estyn's most recent full inspection report on Mountain Ash Comprehensive School dates from 2018.
Read the full Estyn report (school website)
Source: © Crown copyright, Estyn: "Inspection report Mountain Ash Comprehensive School 2019 (English only)". Quoted under Estyn's re-use terms.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Mountain Ash Comprehensive School are Afon Taf High School (2.4 miles), Aberdare Community School (2.7 miles), St John Baptist C.I.W. High School (3.4 miles) and Ferndale Community School (3.7 miles).
Afon Taf High SchoolAberdare Community SchoolSt John Baptist C.I.W. High SchoolFerndale Community School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Fernhill Rail Station, about 440 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).
5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ysbyty Cwm Cynon (grounds), 180 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 Mountain Ash Comprehensive School's Estyn reports.
About
Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, known as MACS, is a comprehensive school near the town of Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is a mixed-sex school with approximately 950 pupils, including about 90 in the sixth form.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with Mountain Ash Comprehensive School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Mountain Ash Comprehensive School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Mountain Ash Comprehensive School is in Rhondda Cynon Taf; for families living there:
Apply to Rhondda Cynon Taf for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 3 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
3 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf is 4 (the median across 111 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 Mountain Ash Comprehensive School
What is the catchment area for Mountain Ash Comprehensive School?
In Wales catchment areas are set by the local authority, so Mountain Ash Comprehensive School has a defined catchment published by Rhondda Cynon Taf. Living in it does not guarantee a place - when the school is oversubscribed Rhondda Cynon Taf 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 Mountain Ash Comprehensive School?
Apply through Rhondda Cynon Taf, naming Mountain Ash Comprehensive School on your application. Welsh admission deadlines are set by each local authority rather than nationally, so check Rhondda Cynon Taf's admissions pages for this year's closing date.
How many road collisions happen near Mountain Ash Comprehensive School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 2 serious and 3 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 3 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf is 4 (the median across 111 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Mountain Ash Comprehensive School?
Mountain Ash Comprehensive School is at New Road, Mountain Ash, CF45 4DG.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)