Archway School, Stroud

Ofsted's report card from its 14 April 2026 inspection grades Archway School on 7 areas: 1 expected standard and 6 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a suitable and coherent personal development programme."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils' progress is inconsistent."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Too many pupils do not attend school often enough."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "In some parts of the curriculum, content is not taught well."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "Leaders identify pupils who have barriers to learning, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders have identified and introduced a range of important actions to improve the school so that pupils benefit from a high-quality education."

Post 16 provision - Needs attention. "The achievement and progress of post-16 students is inconsistent."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders need to ensure that identified pupils with barriers to learning have their changing or emerging needs tracked and that appropriate strategies to remove barriers are implemented effectively"; "Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is adapted consistently well in all subjects and across all key stages to meet the needs of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that all pupils know more and remember more over time"; "Leaders need to ensure that teachers have high expectations of all pupils in all key stages, which would be reflected in high-quality work being produced"; "Leaders need to ensure that newly introduced strategies to remove attendance barriers help more pupils to attend regularly"; "Leaders need to ensure that the ambition and challenge of the post-16 programme of study is consistent so that students achieve consistently well"; "Leaders need to ensure that the well-considered strategies to improve areas that need development are embedded so that their positive impact is realised".

In 2026, pupils at Archway School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 51.2 in Gloucestershire and 47 across England.

25% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 54% in Gloucestershire and 47% in England.

That is down from 43.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.36: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36.7, against 43.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Statistics, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 145 families put Archway School as their first choice and 324 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 1 family who put it first was not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Archway School are Marling School (0.4 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 73.2); Stroud High School (0.4 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 74.7); Maidenhill School (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.6); and Thomas Keble School (3.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.3).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Archway School.

Of the 154 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 83% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 29% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 50 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 30% went on to university or other higher education, 12% to apprenticeships and 36% into work. 10% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

8.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (83%) and Mixed (6%).

The nearest railway station is Stroud (Glos) Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.

13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is School Grounds (in), 110 metres away.

In 2024/25, Archway School issued 303 suspensions, 29 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Archway School are Lift Callowell (0.3 miles), Cashes Green Primary School (0.4 miles), St Matthew's Church of England Primary School (0.6 miles) and Randwick Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.