Ysgol Padarn Sant, Ceredigion

Ysgol Padarn Sant is a bilingual (Welsh and English) school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 150 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

16% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 9% have additional learning needs (39% in 2020/21); 24% are learning English as an additional language; and 48% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 15 pupils (Year 1) to 26 (Year 6).

Estyn's report on its March 2023 inspection summarises Ysgol Padarn Sant like this:

"Ysgol Gatholig Padarn Sant is a happy diverse community where pupils make good progress across their range of skills. Nearly all pupils behave very well during activities and enjoy collaborating with their friends when completing tasks and solving problems. Older pupils are very caring towards their younger peers and develop strong relationships with them. The school values the diversity of its pupils and provides worthwhile opportunities for everyone to appreciate different cultures and traditions. This promotes a strong feeling of mutual respect and supports pupils’ well-being successfully. There are a number of pupil groups and committees which allow pupils to make decisions about their experiences at school. Most pupils express themselves confidently during their activities and collaborate well together."

"Many pupils’ Welsh language skills are developing well and they use an increasing range of vocabulary confidently, with good pronunciation. Most read with good expression, and many older pupils decipher messages beyond the text, discussing characters and inference maturely. Across the school, most pupils apply their numeracy skills successfully in a good range of interesting contexts. Their digital skills are strong, and they make decisions about the best equipment and software to support them with different tasks. Most younger pupils’ writing is developing well. They show good understanding of simple punctuation and spell familiar words correctly. Many older pupils produce a good range of creative and factual writing, but do not always produce extended written work in a wide enough range of forms."

"The school continues to develop their curriculum, providing effective opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and build confidence and resilience. Teachers ensure that the curriculum is based in the local area, developing pupils’ awareness of Wales in a wider context. The staff provide a valuable range of activities which develop the pupils’ independence well. However, opportunities for mainly older pupils to make decisions about what and how they learn are less well developed. The headteacher and leaders, including members of the governing body, set high expectations for all, and have well embedded processes which impact well on school development. Staff share practice, both internally and with other schools, and professional learning has a positive impact on practice."

Estyn made 2 recommendations: (1) Develop meaningful opportunities for pupils to develop their extended writing across the curriculum; (2) Provide opportunities for pupils to influence what and how they learn.

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Padarn Sant are Ysgol Plascrug (0.2 miles), Yr Ysgol Gymraeg (0.3 miles), Ysgol Llwyn Yr Eos (1 mile) and Ysgol Comins Coch (1.6 miles).

The nearest railway station is Aberystwyth Rail Station (Main Entrance), about 500 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Padarn's RC Primary School (outside), 30 metres away.