Cotham School - The School Companion

Cotham School

Bristol, City of · BS6 6DT

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1654 pupils, 39.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.7% on SEN support Behaviour 9.0% absence rate Staff 14.3% turnover Financials £7,817 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Cotham School

General Information

Address: Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6 6DT – View on map
Phone: 01179198000
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Headteacher Joanne Butler
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 160 families put it first for 247 places – 6 for every 10 places. 99% of them were offered a place. 6 of the 247 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 6 · 2025 6 · 2026 6
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1654 pupils out of 1642 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 478
% eligible for free school meals: 39.5%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Bristol, City of average)
English as an additional language: 48% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14.3% a year (Bristol, City of 15.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 36% moved to another school, 64% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bristol, City of: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 58 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 86 (3.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 31 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Bristol, City of, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 28.8%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 20.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 123 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 106 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 56 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 18 pupils
Physical disability: 13 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 51.8
Compared with the area: 4.1 points above the Bristol, City of average (47.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+6.0 points against an expected 45.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 72% (Bristol, City of 67%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBristol, City of averageEngland↗ Improving Up 4.4 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4.1 points above the Bristol, City of average (47.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

8th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8

#6St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School54.2
#7Trinity Academy52.1
#8Cotham School51.8
#9Fairfield High School48.9
#10Bristol Metropolitan Academy46.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Redland Green School59.0
#2E-Act Montpelier High School57.3
#3St Bede's Catholic College57.1
#4Bristol Free School56.3
#5Bristol Cathedral Choir School54.6
#6St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School54.2
#7Trinity Academy52.1
#8Cotham School51.8
#9Fairfield High School48.9
#10Bristol Metropolitan Academy46.9
#11Oasis Academy John Williams46.9
#12Ashton Park School45.8
#13Blaise High School45.0
#14Orchard School Bristol44.7
#15St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School44.5
#16Oasis Academy Brislington44.3
#17Bristol Brunel Academy43.6
#18Bedminster Down School41.7
#19The City Academy Bristol38.5
#20Oasis Academy Brightstowe38.2
#21Bridge Learning Campus34.6
#22E-ACT Bristol Academy South29.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 93.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Spanish
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Business Studies
French Language
Computer Science
Sociology
German
Art & Design
Food Technology
Religious Studies
Ancient History
Chinese
Italian
Arabic
Turkish
Portuguese
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

6th of 15 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Ofsted rating

#4Bristol Brunel AcademyGood
#5Bristol Cathedral Choir SchoolGood
#6Cotham SchoolGood
#7Fairfield High SchoolGood
#8Oasis Academy John WilliamsGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Ashton Park SchoolGood
#2Bedminster Down SchoolGood
#3Blaise High SchoolGood
#4Bristol Brunel AcademyGood
#5Bristol Cathedral Choir SchoolGood
#6Cotham SchoolGood
#7Fairfield High SchoolGood
#8Oasis Academy John WilliamsGood
#9Orchard School BristolGood
#10Redland Green SchoolGood
#11St Bernadette Catholic Secondary SchoolGood
#12The City Academy BristolGood
#13Trinity AcademyGood
#14E-ACT Bristol Academy SouthInadequate
#15E-Act Montpelier High SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,817 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

18th of 24 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for spending per pupil

#16St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School£7,903
#17Oasis Academy John Williams£7,847
#18Cotham School£7,817
#19Trinity Academy£7,733
#20Ashton Park School£7,681

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1E-ACT Bristol Academy South£10,136
#2The City Academy Bristol£9,603
#3Oasis Academy Brightstowe£9,398
#4Bristol Brunel Academy£9,220
#5Bristol Metropolitan Academy£9,129
#6Oasis Academy Brislington£8,901
#7Orchard School Bristol£8,731
#8Bridge Learning Campus£8,625
#9Bedminster Down School£8,528
#10Oasis Academy Daventry Road£8,485
#11Blaise High School£8,043
#12Bristol Cathedral Choir School£7,984
#13E-Act Montpelier High School£7,955
#14St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School£7,935
#15Fairfield High School£7,922
#16St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School£7,903
#17Oasis Academy John Williams£7,847
#18Cotham School£7,817
#19Trinity Academy£7,733
#20Ashton Park School£7,681
#21St Bede's Catholic College£7,664
#22Oasis Academy Temple Quarter£7,018
#23Bristol Free School£6,773
#24Redland Green School£6,596

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bristol, City of: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered