Writhlington School

Bath and North East Somerset · BA3 3NQ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 894 pupils, 26.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 17.6% on SEN support Behaviour 9.3% absence rate Staff 19% turnover Financials £7,720 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Writhlington School

General Information

Address: Knobsbury Lane, Writhlington, Radstock, BA3 3NQ – View on map
Phone: 01761433581
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Duncan Powell
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 147 families put it first for 178 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 53 of the 178 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 7 · 2025 9 · 2026 8
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

894 pupils out of 1547 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 201
% eligible for free school meals: 26.9%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Bath and North East Somerset average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19% a year (Bath and North East Somerset 16.9%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% 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 Bath and North East Somerset: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 19 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 23 (1.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 16 (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 Bath and North East Somerset, 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: 9.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 26.3%
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.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 42 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 31 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 27 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 21 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 13 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 16 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 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 –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

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.

–

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: 40.3
Compared with the area: 8.8 points below the Bath and North East Somerset average (49.1)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−1.9 points against an expected 42.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 55% (Bath and North East Somerset 70%, 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 schoolBath and North East Somerset averageEngland↘ Falling Down 4.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 8.8 points below the Bath and North East Somerset average (49.1).

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.

11th of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Attainment 8

#9Somervale Secondary School45.0
#10St Mark's CofE School44.9
#11Writhlington School40.3
#12IKB Academy38.3
#13Lift Broadlands31.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Hayesfield Girls School57.0
#2Beechen Cliff School55.0
#3Ralph Allen School54.6
#4Wellsway School50.5
#5Norton Hill Academy50.2
#6Chew Valley School49.8
#7Oldfield School47.3
#8Saint Gregory's Catholic College46.6
#9Somervale Secondary School45.0
#10St Mark's CofE School44.9
#11Writhlington School40.3
#12IKB Academy38.3
#13Lift Broadlands31.8
#14Somerset Studio School30.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
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
French Language
Business Studies
History
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Art & Design
D & T
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Italian
Sociology
Spanish

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

12th of 12 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Ofsted rating

#10Somervale Secondary SchoolGood
#11Wellsway SchoolGood
#12Writhlington SchoolGood

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

#1Beechen Cliff SchoolGood
#2Hayesfield Girls SchoolGood
#3IKB AcademyGood
#4Lift BroadlandsGood
#5Norton Hill AcademyGood
#6Oldfield SchoolGood
#7Ralph Allen SchoolGood
#8Saint Gregory's Catholic CollegeGood
#9Somerset Studio SchoolGood
#10Somervale Secondary SchoolGood
#11Wellsway SchoolGood
#12Writhlington SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,720 (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.

6th of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for spending per pupil

#4Somerset Studio School£9,454
#5Saint Gregory's Catholic College£8,007
#6Writhlington School£7,720
#7Oldfield School£7,505
#8Ralph Allen School£7,298

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

#1St Mark's CofE School£11,660
#2Lift Broadlands£10,444
#3IKB Academy£9,652
#4Somerset Studio School£9,454
#5Saint Gregory's Catholic College£8,007
#6Writhlington School£7,720
#7Oldfield School£7,505
#8Ralph Allen School£7,298
#9Beechen Cliff School£7,114
#10Chew Valley School£7,074
#11Somervale Secondary School£6,886
#12Hayesfield Girls School£6,830
#13Wellsway School£6,711
#14Norton Hill Academy£6,627

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

Have you rated Writhlington School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school

General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bath and North East Somerset: 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