Best Schools in Wiltshire

How many schools are there in Wiltshire?

Wiltshire has 332 open schools: 259 state primary, 37 state secondary or all-through, 13 independent, 20 special and 3 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Wiltshire are rated Outstanding?

15 schools in Wiltshire were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Haydon Wick Primary School, Great Bedwyn Church of England School, Malmesbury School, Rodbourne Cheney Primary School, Ramsbury Primary School and 10 more. Counting Good as well, 90% of the 260 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Haydon Wick Primary SchoolGreat Bedwyn Church of England SchoolMalmesbury SchoolRodbourne Cheney Primary SchoolRamsbury Primary School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Wiltshire get the best GCSE results?

Of the 39 schools in Wiltshire with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at South Wilts Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 76.5 and 100% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 73.5 and 98% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and St John's Marlborough, with an Attainment 8 score of 51.8 and 56% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

South Wilts Grammar SchoolBishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolSt John's Marlborough

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Wiltshire have the best SATs results?

3 of the 220 primary schools in Wiltshire with 2025 Key Stage 2 results had every pupil reach the expected standard in both reading and maths: Stanton St Quintin Primary and Nursery School; St George's Church of England Primary School, Semington; and Whiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary School. Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Stanton St Quintin Primary and Nursery SchoolSt George's Church of England Primary School, SemingtonWhiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Wiltshire?

Yes. Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School and South Wilts Grammar School are state grammar schools in Wiltshire. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolSouth Wilts Grammar School

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Wiltshire have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Wiltshire have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Wiltshire?

Apply to your council - Wiltshire, Swindon or Oxfordshire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.