Independent schools in Wales charge annual fees of up to £57,465 for full boarding, with day fees ranging from around £10,431 to £28,359. As many face pressure from falling pupil numbers and rising costs, some have closed suddenly or face cuts this year and in recent times.
Here we look at the fees, exam results, ethos and pupil numbers at Wales' independent schools as they navigate tougher economic times.
Kings Monkton School, Cardiff
This small, non-selective and inclusive independent school in central Cardiff takes pupils from early years to Sixth Form. It says it offers small classes, personalised learning and strong pastoral and wellbeing support. The school dates back over 150 years, with its current owners, Paul and Karen Norton, becoming the school's proprietors in 2019.
Pupil number: 320. Type: Independent co-educational day school for girls and boys, boarding not offered. Religious affiliation: Non-denominational.
Ethos: "The school has an inclusive family community within a happy, innovative and outstanding learning environment. Its ethos centres on pupil wellbeing, confidence, character, individuality, tolerance and respect, alongside helping every pupil fulfil their academic and personal potential." Motto: "Be the best you can be."
Fees for 2026/27 range from £10,431.49 for early years play-based provision to £16,456.09 for sixth form. GCSE results: A*-A 75%, with 90% of pupils gaining five or more A*-C grades. A level: A*-C 90%, A*-B 70%. Principal: Paul Norton. Vice Principal: Karen Norton.
The Cathedral School, Llandaff
Founded in 1880, this co-educational day school in Cardiff takes pupils aged three to 18. The school says it has a strong academic ethos and commitment to personal achievement. In December 2025 it was named in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025 as the Welsh Independent School of the Year for the second year running.
Number of pupils: 779. Type: Day. Religious affiliation: Anglican. Motto/Ethos: "There are five qualities and virtues that form the school ethos: Achievement, Care, Opportunity, Ambition and Leadership."
Fees (including VAT): Nursery £3,589 a term (VAT not applicable); Reception, Years 1 & 2 £5,017 per term; Years 3 & 4 £5,721 per term; Years 5 & 6 £6,447 per term; Years 7 & 8 £7,033 per term; Years 9 & 11 £7,102 per term; Years 12 & 13 £7,307 per term.
A Level 2026: 100% pass rate, 48% of all grades at A*, 78% at A*-A, 93% at A*-B. The most common grade was A* with almost a third of the cohort achieving three or more A*. GCSE: 80% of all grades at 9-6 (England Pathway), 98% at 9-4. Headteacher: Clare Sherwood.
Christ College, Brecon
Set in the Brecon Beacons National Park, this school was founded in 1541 by Henry VII as an all-boys school. Today it takes boys and girls aged four to 18.
Pupil number: 340. Type: Co-educational, day places from age four to 18, flexi, weekly and full boarding from age 10. Religious affiliation: Anglican Church in Wales. Motto: "They achieve because they believe they can."
Day fees from £12,777 to £28,359 per year; boarding fees from £30,867 to £54,666 per year. GCSE (England series in brackets): A* (9/8) 28%, A*-A (9/7) 46%, A*-B (9/5) 84%, pass rate 95%. A Level: A* 18%, A*-A 47%, A*-B 66%, A*-C 87%. The school runs both the England or Wales exam series. Principal: Alex Wallace BSc.
St Michael's School, Llanelli
Founded in 1923, St Michael's takes boys and girls aged three to 18. The school is consistently featured in the top 10 of the UK A-Level results league tables. In 2021 it was named The Sunday Times Welsh Independent Secondary School of the Decade and has just been named The Telegraph's Best Schools Number One Choice in Wales for 2026.
Pupil number: 426. Type: Day and boarding, boys and girls, pre-prep, prep, senior and sixth form. Religious affiliation: Non-denominational. Ethos: "An established heritage of academic excellence which is small enough to care but big enough to challenge and inspire." Motto: "Disce ut vivas" (learn so that you may live).
Domestic fees: £6,960-£17,100 per year; boarding fees from £26,850 per year. A-Levels 2026: A*-A 75.1%, A*-B 89.8%, A*-C 98%. GCSE: A*-A 73.8%, A*-B 93.8%, A*-C 99.6%. Nearly all GCSE and A-Level courses are examined by the WJEC. Principal: Benson Ferrari.
Llandovery College
Llandovery College is recognised as the birthplace of rugby in Wales, and sport remains an important part of the school, alongside other sports and performing arts. A small, non-selective day and boarding school for girls and boys, it is set in 45 acres of scenic grounds on the banks of the River Towy, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Founded in 1847 with the aim of providing "a good classical and liberal education", Llandovery describes itself as "proudly Welsh and open to the world".
Pupil number: 172. Type: Non-selective day and boarding for boys and girls aged three to 18, with occasional and flexi-boarding available. Religious Affiliation: Church in Wales. Motto: Gwell Dysg Na Golud — "Better learning than wealth."
Exam results Summer 2026: A Level and BTEC — 32.8% A*-A, up from 20%; 72.3% A*-C, up from 59%; 97.8% A*-E, up from 97%; 70% of Extended Project Qualification grades were A, with 100% achieving A-C. GCSE: A*-C 83% of grades. Day tuition: £4,236-£10,596 per term, including VAT. Boarding: Additional £5,142-£6,756 per term, including VAT. Head / Warden: Dr Georgie Bevan, Acting Warden.
Ffynone House School
This non-selective independent day school for pupils aged four to 18 is located in the heart of Swansea. Ffynone House opened in 1973 and says it has retained its founding principle of providing an individual education within a friendly, family environment.
Pupil number: 145. Type: Day, boys and girls aged four to 18. Religious affiliation: None. The school states it has links with St James' Church opposite the school as part of its community activities, but says it is not presented as a faith school. Motto: "Where individuals matter, every step of the way."
Fees from £3,400 a term for reception to year two to £5,970 a term for years 10 to 13, including VAT. GCSE 2026: A-A** (7-9) 7%, A**-C (4/C or above) 99%. A level: A*-A 17%, A*-B 46%, A*-C 75%. At GCSE most pupils follow English exam boards and 9-1 graded GCSEs alongside some letter-graded Welsh-board qualifications. The school also offers International GCSEs (iGCSEs). A grade 9 at GCSE is equivalent to A**, a grade not offered in Wales series GCSEs. Headteacher: Josie Miles.
Cardiff Sixth Form College
Pupil number: 400. Type: Boarding and day. Religious affiliation: Non-denominational. Ethos: "Ambitious, international, forward thinking and empowering." Motto: "One of the world's leading schools."
Fees from £32,800 a year for GCSE to £31,050 for A level. Exam results 2026: A levels or IB — 99.3% A*-B, 91.3% A*-A, 58.1% A*. GCSE (England series) — 9-7 75.3%, 9-6 85.8%, 9-4 100%. Headteacher: Tom Arrand.
St David's College, Llandudno
St David's College is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged nine to 18, founded in 1965 and set within the Grade I listed 30-acre estate of Gloddaeth Hall in Llandudno, North Wales. The school was built on a "whole person" ethos, combining personalised, small-class teaching, capped at just 12-15 students, with a strong outdoor education tradition and a whole-school approach to supporting pupils with dyslexia and SEN support.
Pupil number: 293 students, of which 93 board. Type: Day and boarding. Religious affiliation: Christian values. Motto: "Beyond Ordinary."
Fees (termly, 3 terms per year): Day pupil from £6,162 to £9,768 (inclusive of VAT); boarding from £12,126 to £17,352 (inclusive of VAT). Exam results (England series): GCSE A*-A 22.4%, A*-C 86.6%, A*-G 100%. A level A*-A 23.1%, A*-C 76.9%, A*-E 100%. BTEC: Distinction-Distinction* 53.3%, Distinction*-Merit 82.2%, Distinction-pass 100%. Head: Andrew Russell.
Haberdashers' Monmouth Schools
This school for boys and girls aged three to 18 in Monmouth was formed in 2024 by the merger of Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls and Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Boys. The school has a 400-year history, founded in 1614 through an endowment by wealthy merchant William Jones and managed via the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers.
Type: Day, weekly/flexible boarding and full boarding. Pupil number: Listed on the Independent Schools Council website as having more than 600 pupils. Religious affiliation: Anglican.
Exam results 2026: GCSE — a third of all grades achieved 9-8 (A*), over half 9-7 (A*-A). A level — A*-A 42%, A*-B 71%. Fees 2026-27: Day pupils years 7-8 £8,927 a term and £26,781 a year, full boarding £51,662 a year. Day pupils years 9-13 £9,146 a term and £27,438 a year, full boarding £52,928 a year. Full boarding external entry for years 12 and 13 is £57,465. Head: Melvyn Roffe.
Rougemont School, Newport
Rougemont School takes boys and girls aged three to 18 and is located on a 90-acre site at Llantarnam Hall between Newport and Cwmbran. Type: Day. Pupil number: The Independent Schools Council website lists the school as having between 600 and just over 700 pupils. Ethos motto: "A School for Life."
Exams 2026: GCSE A* 37%, A*-A 66%, A*-B 85%, A*-C 97%. A level A* 33%, A*-A 61%, A*-B 84%. Fees: From £1,213 monthly infants to £1,774 monthly in years 10 to 13. Head: Lisa Pritchard.
Rydal Penrhos School, Colwyn Bay
This non-academically selective school takes pupils from nursery age two to 18. Rydal Penrhos was formed by the merger of Rydal and Penrhos College in the late 1990s, but the history goes back to Rydal Mount, a school founded in the Methodist tradition in 1885, and Penrhos College, founded as a Methodist girls' boarding school in 1880.
Type: Day. Pupil number: The Independent Schools Council lists the school as having 309 pupils. Religious denomination: Methodist. The school says it is committed to embodying the rule for Christian living set out in the teachings of Methodist leader John Wesley.
Ethos/motto: "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
Exam results 2026: GCSE A* (9 to 8) 29%, A* to A (9 to 7) 55%, A* to C (9 to 4) 95%. A level A* 26%, A*-A 50%, A*-B 69%, A*-C 91%, pass rate 100%. Fees: From £14,040 a year in reception to year two to £22,280 a year for pupils in years 12 and 13 sixth form. All fees include VAT. Headteacher: Tom Hutchinson.
Redhill High School, Pembrokeshire
This secondary school, based at Clynderwen House in Pembrokeshire, is a relatively new arrival, opening in 2018. It takes girls and boys aged from 11 to 18 and was listed as one of the Daily Telegraph's Best Value Schools in the UK 2026 (Very Good category).
Pupil number: 100. Type: Co-educational day school for boys and girls aged 11-18. Religious affiliation: Non-denominational, welcoming pupils of all faiths and none. Motto: "Sapere Aude - Dare to know."
Fees (including VAT): Years 7-8 £14,027, Years 9-11 £14,461, Years 12-13 £15,450. Meals cost £840 annually; optional school transport costs £1,800 annually. Scholarships and sibling discounts are available. Summer 2026 exam results: GCSE A*-A 62%, A*-B 86%. A level A*-A 62%, A*-B 78%. The school is based in Wales but uses the English examination system. Headmaster: Mr Alun Millington, BA (Hons), MA (Oxon), PGCE, NPQH.
St John's College, Cardiff
This school in Old St Mellons, Cardiff, is the choir school of Wales' national Catholic cathedral, Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral. It takes pupils aged three to 18.
Pupil number: 445. Type: Day co-ed. Religion: Roman Catholic. Motto: "Ubi amor, ibi oculus - Where there is love, there is vision." Fees: Range from £3,555 - £7,290 per term from nursery to sixth form.
Exam results summer 2026: GCSE A* 62%, A*-A 85%, A*-B 95%. A Level A* 31%, A*-A 73%, A*-B 88%. St John's runs a mixture of Welsh and English examination boards. Headmaster: Luke Ramsden.
