The Castle School

General Information

Address: Park Road, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 1HT
Phone: 01454862100
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Jo Cowper
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Number of pupils: 1416
School capacity: 1733
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 173
% eligible for free school meals: 14.6%
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: 7.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.3%
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.

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

Pupils on SEN Support: 9.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 49 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 27 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 18 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 16 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 15 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 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

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Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

Good 2021 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: 52.4
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 #2 of 14 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#1Yate Academy54.8
#2The Castle School52.4
#3John Cabot Academy52.1
#4Winterbourne Academy52.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1Yate Academy54.8
#2The Castle School52.4
#3John Cabot Academy52.1
#4Winterbourne Academy52.0
#5Downend School51.0
#6Abbeywood Community School46.0
#7Brimsham Green School44.9
#8Sir Bernard Lovell Academy44.5
#9Hanham Woods Academy44.1
#10Chipping Sodbury School43.7
#11Marlwood School43.2
#12Mangotsfield School41.3
#13Patchway Community School37.0
#14Digitech Studio School31.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
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

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

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 #7 of 9 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#5Marlwood SchoolGood
#6Sir Bernard Lovell AcademyGood
#7The Castle SchoolGood
#8Winterbourne AcademyGood
#9Yate AcademyGood

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.

#1Chipping Sodbury SchoolGood
#2Digitech Studio SchoolGood
#3Hanham Woods AcademyGood
#4Mangotsfield SchoolGood
#5Marlwood SchoolGood
#6Sir Bernard Lovell AcademyGood
#7The Castle SchoolGood
#8Winterbourne AcademyGood
#9Yate AcademyGood

Financials

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

Spending per pupil: £6,584 (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 #12 of 14 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#10Sir Bernard Lovell Academy£6,754
#11John Cabot Academy£6,618
#12The Castle School£6,584
#13Winterbourne Academy£6,564
#14Downend School£6,541

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.

#1Abbeywood Community School£7,602
#2Yate Academy£7,577
#3Chipping Sodbury School£7,506
#4Marlwood School£7,464
#5Digitech Studio School£7,365
#6Patchway Community School£7,335
#7Hanham Woods Academy£7,116
#8Mangotsfield School£7,020
#9Brimsham Green School£7,008
#10Sir Bernard Lovell Academy£6,754
#11John Cabot Academy£6,618
#12The Castle School£6,584
#13Winterbourne Academy£6,564
#14Downend School£6,541

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