Bilton School, Rugby

Ofsted's report card from its 27 January 2026 inspection grades Bilton 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. "The school has developed a comprehensive and wide-ranging personal development programme for pupils."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Too many disadvantaged pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Pupils' attendance is below the national average."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Teaching across the school is inconsistent."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "Leaders have a plan to ensure that the additional funding the school receives helps its disadvantaged pupils."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders' actions over time have not secured the improvements needed in inclusion, curriculum and teaching, attendance or the sixth form."

Post 16 provision - Needs attention. "In recent years, students' achievement in national examinations has been low."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the pupil premium strategy is implemented consistently and evaluated robustly to ensure that support and interventions are timely, appropriate and effective"; "Leaders should ensure that the checking of pupils' knowledge and understanding is used to accurately determine when it is appropriate to revisit previous learning, deepen pupils' thinking or move on to new concepts and ideas"; "Leaders should ensure that agreed approaches to help pupils catch up and keep up following a period of absence are used consistently well and prevent pupils from developing gaps in their knowledge and skills that negatively impact their achievement"; "Leaders should ensure that the strategies and approaches deployed to improve attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have a sustained impact and reduce levels of persistent absence"; "Leaders should continually review and refine the improvements made to post-16 provision so that students make the progress they should and achieve outcomes that are at least in line with national averages"; "Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that recent improvements are sustained and that there is rapid improvement to address the areas of weakness across the school".

In 2026, pupils at Bilton School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50 in Warwickshire and 47 across England.

34% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 52% in Warwickshire and 47% in England.

That is down from 43.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.31: 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 30.5, against 43.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 87 families put Bilton School as their first choice and 443 named it as one of their preferences, for 204 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Bilton School are Rugby High School (0.8 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 77.1); Harris Church of England Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.8); Rugby Free Secondary School (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.5); and The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.7).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Bilton School.

Bilton School is one of 14 schools run by Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46 in 2024/25.

109 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bilton School (as of April 2026): 62% would recommend the school, 65% say their child is happy there and 39% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (67%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (39%).

Of the 173 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 78% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 46% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.

Of the 55 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 33% went on to university or other higher education, 9% to apprenticeships and 38% into work. 2% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

The nearest railway station is Rugby Rail Station, about 2.3 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bilton High School (opposite), 140 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Bilton School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 8th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Bilton School issued 297 suspensions, 25.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Bilton School are Cawston Grange Primary School (0.3 miles), Bilton Infant School (0.4 miles), Henry Hinde School (0.4 miles) and Bawnmore Community Infant School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.