Bedminster Down School, Bristol
Bedminster Down School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Bristol, part of Futura Learning Partnership. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 39th-highest of the 44 schools in Bristol with published results, and 2,982nd of 3,298 across England. It was 94% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2014)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Bristol, City of (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Bedminster Down School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Bedminster Down School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46 in Bristol, City of; and 47 across England.
28% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Bristol, City of; and 47% in England.
That is down from 41.7 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.3: 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 28.9, against 40.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.9 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and History.
Getting a place at Bedminster Down School
For September 2026 entry, 157 families put Bedminster Down School as their first choice and 311 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Bedminster Down School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Bedminster Down School are E-ACT Bristol Academy South (0.8 miles, Attainment 8 30.4); Ashton Park School (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48); Bridge Learning Campus (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 33.4); and Oasis Academy Daventry Road (1.8 miles).
Bedminster Down School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.
E-ACT Bristol Academy SouthAshton Park SchoolBridge Learning CampusOasis Academy Daventry Road
The trust
Bedminster Down School is one of 26 schools run by Futura Learning Partnership, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.1 in 2024/25.
What parents say
69 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bedminster Down School (as of September 2025): 65% would recommend the school, 77% say their child is happy there and 58% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (77%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (52%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 194 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 71% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 39% to a further education college, 11% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.
Who goes there
38.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 6.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Parson Street Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Wrington Crescent (n-bound), 280 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 276 crimes within a mile of the school, most often shoplifting, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Bristol, City of (417).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Bedminster Down School issued 897 suspensions, 87.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Bedminster Down School are Cheddar Grove Primary School (0.3 miles), St Peter's Church of England Primary School (VC) (0.3 miles), Headley Park Primary School (0.5 miles) and Ashton Vale Primary School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Cheddar Grove Primary SchoolSt Peter's Church of England Primary School (VC)Headley Park Primary SchoolAshton Vale Primary School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from November 2014, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Bedminster Down provides a good quality education with an ambitious, broad curriculum taught by subject specialists. The school has strong systems to support pupils with special educational needs and extra-curricular opportunities that engage students. Staff are highly visible around school, helping pupils feel safe, and the school works hard to prepare pupils for their futures through careers guidance and real-world experiences.
Key Strengths
- Broad, ambitious curriculum with subject specialists who connect learning to local areas - for example, studying the Blitz's impact on Bristol in history
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs, including targeted reading programmes that help them catch up quickly
- Strong careers guidance programme with speakers, company visits, university trips and mock interviews to help pupils be aspirational about their futures
- Well-organised extra-curricular activities and improved lunchtime arrangements that have reduced bullying incidents
Areas for Improvement
- Attendance is significantly low with too many pupils persistently absent, causing gaps in their knowledge and hindering achievement
- Sanctions for poor behaviour are not working effectively - some pupils receive repeated sanctions but show little improvement
- New improvement initiatives have not been carefully evaluated to determine what is working, so oversight is not precise enough
- Some teachers do not always spot and address gaps in pupils' knowledge during lessons
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Skateboarding, indoor bowls, gardening, cheerleading, school council
Bedminster Down School is a secondary comprehensive school where pupils receive a good quality of education and are well prepared for their next steps. However, the school faces challenges with pupil behaviour during social times and attendance rates that remain below expectations.
About
Bedminster Down School is a mixed gender secondary school with academy status, located in the Bishopsworth area of Bristol, England.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
38.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
69 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.43 to -0.30 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 39.3 to 37.0 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 31% to 28% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 37.0 | 28% |
| Disadvantaged(64) | - | 28.9 | 12.5% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(136) | - | 40.8 | 35.3% |
| Boys(113) | - | 35.7 | 28.3% |
| Girls(87) | - | 38.6 | 27.6% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(192) | - | 37.4 | 28.6% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 4 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 194 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
897
Suspensions
87.17%
Suspension rate
144 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,029 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Bedminster Down School
Term dates
Bedminster Down School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bristol, City of's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Bedminster Down School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Bedminster Down School is in Bristol, City of; for families living there:
- Bristol, City of's school travel policy: Home to school travel policy
- How to apply: Apply online for home school travel support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 16
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 7
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 7 serious and 9 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bristol, City of is 27 (the median across 175 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Bedminster Down School
Will you get a place at Bedminster Down School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Bedminster Down School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Bedminster Down School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Bedminster Down School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Bristol, City of, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Bedminster Down School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bristol, City of got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
94%
Near capacity
1,025 pupils
1,090 places
65 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bristol
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bristol
Across Bristol, City of council
Places available
4,580
Applications
4,426
Got 1st preference
84.0%
Got preferred school
96.7%
All secondary applications across Bristol, City of council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good, but Ofsted raised concerns; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
200
SEN Support
46
EHC Plans
24.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,022
Total Pupils
552
Boys
470
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
65
Teachers
15.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,687
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,457
Per pupil
£9420k
Total funding
£440k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
13.3%
Overall absence
39.8%
Persistent absence
1,084
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Bedminster Down School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Bedminster Down School
What are GCSE results like at Bedminster Down School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Bedminster Down School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 37. 28% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Bedminster Down School's Ofsted rating?
Bedminster Down School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2014, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Bedminster Down School?
No fixed boundary. When Bedminster Down School is oversubscribed, Bristol, City of allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Bedminster Down School?
Bedminster Down School was not full in 2025: it ran at 94% of its 1090 places.
How big are the classes at Bedminster Down School?
Classes at Bedminster Down School average 22.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Bedminster Down School?
Bedminster Down School has around 1022 pupils on roll. 38% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Bedminster Down School?
13.3% of sessions were missed at Bedminster Down School in 2024/25. 39.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Bedminster Down School?
Apply through Bristol, City of's coordinated admissions process, naming Bedminster Down School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Bedminster Down School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 7 serious and 9 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bristol, City of is 27 (the median across 175 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Bedminster Down School?
Bedminster Down School is at Donald Road, Bedminster Down, Bristol, BS13 7DQ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)