Bridgwater College Academy, Bridgwater
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Overall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
The school has made recent improvements to its early years provision with a carefully designed curriculum that helps children develop quickly. Staff build strong positive relationships with families and work with healthcare professionals to support individual needs. The careers provision is a particular strength, helping secondary pupils develop aspirations and plan their next steps into education and employment.
Key Strengths
- Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed
- Early years curriculum is carefully designed and children develop positive relationships with staff
- Careers provision is a notable strength, raising pupil aspirations and helping them plan next steps
- Primary phase behaviour has improved significantly and is generally calm and orderly
- Pupils enjoy extra-curricular activities including performing arts, sports, trips and enrichment week
Areas for Improvement
- Pupils' achievement in key stage 2 and 4 is significantly below national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils
- Attendance is poor with too many pupils persistently absent and truancy from lessons a significant concern
- Secondary phase lessons are frequently disrupted by poor behaviour and some pupils feel unsafe
- Teaching quality is inconsistent with teachers lacking training to implement the curriculum effectively
- Leaders and governors have not taken sufficient action to address weaknesses over time
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and acted upon.
Extracurricular Activities
Performing arts clubs, sports clubs, trips and visits, Year 6 residential, secondary enrichment week
Bridgwater College Academy requires special measures as it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education. The school has significant weaknesses across achievement, attendance, behaviour, and teaching quality that require urgent improvement.
At a Glance
36.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 56% to 46%. Maths has declined from 63% to 42%. Writing has declined from 71% to 38%.
Class Sizes
25.1
Avg class size
25.7
Infant (KS1)
27.3
KS2
59
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
83%
Available places
1,561 pupils
1,880 capacity
319 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Bridgwater
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bridgwater
Admissions Demand - Somerset
Places available
5,071
Applications
4,601
Got 1st preference
92.0%
Got preferred school
96.7%
Secondary admissions across Somerset (2025/26)
Inspection History(16)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.01146%
Overall absence
27.22547%
Persistent absence
1,539
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Bridgwater College Academy
St John and St Francis Church School
Eastover Primary School
Willowdown Primary School
Northgate Primary School
Hamp Nursery and Infants' School
Westover Green Community School and Autism Centre
Hamp Academy
Somerset Bridge Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bridgwater
Nearby Schools
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