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Wales education

Schools in Wales

Wales has rolled out the Curriculum for Wales — a phased, areas-of-learning model that replaces the National Curriculum and redefines how progress is measured. Pupils still sit GCSEs and A-levels (alongside the Welsh Baccalaureate), and Welsh-medium schools run parallel to English-medium ones in every local authority, with cyfrwng Cymraeg provision protected by statute. Estyn is the inspectorate, and ALN (Additional Learning Needs) replaced the older SEN framework.

Curriculum

Curriculum for Wales

Main qualifications

GCSE and A-level (with Welsh Baccalaureate)

Inspectorate

Estyn

local authorities

22

What’s different about Wales

22 local authorities cover every Welsh postcode.
Curriculum for Wales replaced the National Curriculum from 2022 — phased to Year 11 by 2026/27.
GCSEs and A-levels are still the main qualifications; the Welsh Bacc sits alongside them.
Welsh-medium schools operate in every local authority, with formal rights to Welsh-medium education.
Estyn inspections use a four-point scale (Excellent, Good, Adequate, Unsatisfactory).
ALN (Additional Learning Needs) with an IDP is Wales' equivalent of England's SEND/EHCP.

Tools for Wales

Wales league table

Every school ranked by GCSE and A-level (with Welsh Baccalaureate) performance.

AI School Matcher

Describe what you need — catchment, ethos, qualifications — for a ranked shortlist.

Explore the map

See every Wales school on a single map with filters for phase, sector and inspection.

Further reading

AlsoHeaded to Wales from another UK nation? The moving-between-UK-nations guide covers curriculum matching and qualification equivalence.