The Trafalgar School at Downton

Wiltshire · SP5 3HN

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 808 pupils, 13.2% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 11.9% on SEN support Behaviour 8.6% absence rate Staff 10.1% turnover Financials £6,804 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Trafalgar School at Downton

General Information

Address: Breamore Road, Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3HN – View on map
Phone: 01725550300
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Jy Taylor
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 130 families put it first for 144 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 8 of the 144 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 12 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

808 pupils out of 630 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 106
% eligible for free school meals: 13.2%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Wiltshire average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 10.1% a year (Wiltshire 15%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 60% moved to another school, 40% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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 Wiltshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 59 (1.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 21 (0.7 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 Wiltshire, 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: 8.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.5%
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: 11.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 45 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 11 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 6 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 19 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 18 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Moderate 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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

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: 44.3
Compared with the area: 3.0 points below the Wiltshire average (47.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−3.3 points against an expected 47.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 65% (Wiltshire 67%, England 65%) Falling
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 schoolWiltshire averageEngland↘ Falling Down 3.1 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 3.0 points below the Wiltshire average (47.3).

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.

16th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8

#14Sheldon School45.2
#15The John of Gaunt School44.3
#16The Trafalgar School at Downton44.3
#17Kingdown School42.8
#18Wyvern St Edmund's Academy42.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#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: 92.0%
Went into further education: 84.0%
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 Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Geography
Business Studies
Art & Design
History
Spanish
Sports Studies
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Religious Studies
D & T
Computer Science
Media Studies
Music Studies (General)
Russian
Turkish
French Language
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

19th of 23 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Ofsted rating

#17The John of Gaunt SchoolGood
#18The Stonehenge SchoolGood
#19The Trafalgar School at DowntonGood
#20The Wellington AcademyGood
#21Wyvern St Edmund's 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.

Rank School Score

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,804 (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.

25th of 27 secondary schools in Wiltshire for spending per pupil

#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

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

#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

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 Wiltshire: 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