Sheldon School - The School Companion

Sheldon School

General Information

Address: Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham, SN14 6HJ
Phone: 01249766020
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Peter Lynch
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Number of pupils: 1467
School capacity: 1800
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 237
% eligible for free school meals: 19.6%
Nursery provision: No

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.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 10.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.9%
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

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.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 9.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 33 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 30 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 25 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 12 pupils
Hearing impairment: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils

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 –

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 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.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 45.2
Data year: 2024/25

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.

Ranked #14 of 26 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#12Matravers School47.0
#13Devizes School45.3
#14Sheldon School45.2
#15The John of Gaunt School44.3
#16The Trafalgar School at Downton44.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1South Wilts Grammar School77.0
#2Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School73.1
#3St Laurence School54.5
#4St Augustine's Catholic College51.4
#5Royal Wootton Bassett Academy51.0
#6St John's Marlborough50.9
#7Lavington School50.3
#8Malmesbury School49.8
#9Bradon Forest School48.1
#10Hardenhuish School47.5
#11The Corsham School47.5
#12Matravers School47.0
#13Devizes School45.3
#14Sheldon School45.2
#15The John of Gaunt School44.3
#16The Trafalgar School at Downton44.3
#17Kingdown School42.8
#18Wyvern St Edmund's Academy42.2
#19The Wellington Academy42.1
#20Melksham Oak Community School41.4
#21St Joseph's Catholic School40.4
#22The Clarendon Academy39.8
#23Kingsbury Green Academy39.6
#24The Stonehenge School37.4
#25Avon Valley Academy34.8
#26Sarum Academy33.7

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 89.0%
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

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Business Studies
History
Geography
Food Technology
D & T
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Biology
Chemistry (General)
French Language
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
German
Photography
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Media Studies
Music Studies (General)
Spanish
Dance: General
Chinese
Russian
Bengali
Polish
Statistics

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

Ranked #12 of 24 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#10Melksham Oak Community SchoolGood
#11Sarum AcademyGood
#12Sheldon SchoolGood
#13South Wilts Grammar SchoolGood
#14St Augustine's Catholic CollegeGood

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.

#1Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#2Malmesbury SchoolOutstanding
#3Abbeyfield SchoolGood
#4Bradon Forest SchoolGood
#5Hardenhuish SchoolGood
#6Kingdown SchoolGood
#7Kingsbury Green AcademyGood
#8Lavington SchoolGood
#9Matravers SchoolGood
#10Melksham Oak Community SchoolGood
#11Sarum AcademyGood
#12Sheldon SchoolGood
#13South Wilts Grammar SchoolGood
#14St Augustine's Catholic CollegeGood
#15St Laurence SchoolGood
#16The Clarendon AcademyGood
#17The Corsham SchoolGood
#18The John of Gaunt SchoolGood
#19The Stonehenge SchoolGood
#20The Trafalgar School at DowntonGood
#21The Wellington AcademyGood
#22Wyvern St Edmund's AcademyGood
#23Pewsey Vale SchoolRequires improvement
#24St Joseph's Catholic SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £7,305 (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.

Ranked #16 of 28 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#14Pewsey Vale School£7,385
#15Devizes School£7,372
#16Sheldon School£7,305
#17Kingsbury Green Academy£7,263
#18St Laurence School£7,256

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.

#1Sarum Academy£8,358
#2St Joseph's Catholic School£8,212
#3Bradon Forest School£8,024
#4Avon Valley Academy£7,977
#5Lavington School£7,885
#6The Stonehenge School£7,768
#7The John of Gaunt School£7,750
#8The Wellington Academy£7,740
#9Matravers School£7,607
#10Hardenhuish School£7,584
#11Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School£7,471
#12Kingdown School£7,456
#13St Augustine's Catholic College£7,439
#14Pewsey Vale School£7,385
#15Devizes School£7,372
#16Sheldon School£7,305
#17Kingsbury Green Academy£7,263
#18St Laurence School£7,256
#19The Clarendon Academy£7,234
#20Melksham Oak Community School£7,220
#21St John's Marlborough£7,165
#22Royal Wootton Bassett Academy£7,077
#23South Wilts Grammar School£6,932
#24Wyvern St Edmund's Academy£6,883
#25The Trafalgar School at Downton£6,804
#26Malmesbury School£6,790
#27The Corsham School£6,695
#28Salisbury Sixth Form College£6,033

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

General Information

Behaviour

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