Minehead Middle School, Minehead
Minehead Middle School is a secondary school for pupils aged 9 to 13 in Minehead, part of Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership. It was rated Inadequate at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2023. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 137th-highest of the 155 schools in Somerset with published results, and 13,336th of 14,452 across England. It was 86% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Inadequate (2023)
- Capacity
- 86% full
- Attendance
- In line with England
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Somerset (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Minehead Middle School in detail
Results
In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils at Minehead Middle School reached the expected standard in reading and 52% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 71% in Somerset and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 69% in reading and 59% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Minehead Middle School
Across Somerset, 92% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 98% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Somerset lodged 133 appeals against secondary school offers; 99 reached a hearing and 10 succeeded (10.1% of those heard).
The trust
Minehead Middle School is one of 44 schools run by Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.4 in 2024/25.
What parents say
73 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Minehead Middle School (as of September 2025): 47% would recommend the school, 59% say their child is happy there and 24% 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) (24%).
Who goes there
6.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 114 pupils (20%) received SEN support and 11 (1.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Minehead (West Somerset Railway), about 740 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Minehead Middle School (se-bound), 90 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 79 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Somerset (22), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Minehead Middle School issued 64 suspensions, 11.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Minehead Middle School are Minehead First School (0.3 miles), St Michael's Church of England First School (0.6 miles) and Dunster First School (1.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Minehead First SchoolSt Michael's Church of England First SchoolDunster First 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 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
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Minehead Middle School provides a calm, supportive environment where pupils behave well and enjoy strong relationships with their teachers. The school has excellent pastoral support for pupils' physical and mental health, with bullying incidents reducing considerably. The school is particularly strong at supporting pupils who struggle with reading, offering daily phonics interventions delivered by well-trained staff.
Key Strengths
- Pupils behave well in lessons and around school, with clear routines and high expectations for conduct
- Strong support for pupils with special educational needs through robust identification and inclusion staff
- Effective reading interventions for pupils in early stages of learning, with many becoming fluent and confident readers
- Well-designed personal, social and health education curriculum helping pupils learn about respect, relationships and careers
- Positive relationships between pupils and teachers in a calm, stable school environment
Areas for Improvement
- Recent curriculum changes in some subjects have left older pupils with gaps in knowledge and lower starting points
- Key stage 3 curriculum lacks explicit identification of knowledge and skills pupils should remember, affecting incremental learning
- Extended leadership team lack clear oversight of their areas of accountability and systems to evaluate their impact
- Strategies to adapt learning for pupils with SEND are not always applied promptly or effectively in lessons
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school creating a positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Chess club, library activities, enrichment week, careers fair, visiting authors, annual scrapbook competition, clubs and trips
Minehead Middle School has made rapid improvements following a period of significant change in staffing and leadership. While behaviour and personal development are good, the quality of education and leadership require further improvement.
At a Glance
26.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
73 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
64
Suspensions
11.31%
Suspension rate
27 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 566 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 1 nearby secondary school
Latest from Minehead Middle School
MMS Spotlight Friday 2nd Oct 26
5 Oct 2026
MMS Spotlight Friday 25th Sep 26
28 Sep 2026
Open Evening 15th October 2026 4.15pm
25 Sep 2026
MMS Spotlight Friday 18th Sep 26
21 Sep 2026
MMS Friday Spotlight 11th Sep 26
14 Sep 2026
MMS Friday Spotlight 24th July 26
24 Jul 2026
From Minehead Middle School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Minehead Middle School
Getting There
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Minehead Middle School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Minehead Middle School is in Somerset; for families living there:
Apply to Somerset for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
1 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 Somerset is 3 (the median across 307 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
Will you get a place at Minehead Middle School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Minehead Middle School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Minehead Middle School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Minehead Middle School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Somerset, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- How many families in Somerset 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
86%
Available places
556 pupils
648 places
92 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Minehead
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Minehead
Across Somerset council
Places available
4,902
Applications
4,659
Got 1st preference
92.1%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All secondary applications across Somerset council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
114
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
21.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
570
Total Pupils
295
Boys
275
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
28
Teachers
20.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£46,596
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,942
Per pupil
£3702k
Total funding
£213k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.2%
Overall absence
21.9%
Persistent absence
584
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
Minehead Middle School
Questions parents ask about Minehead Middle School
What are SATs results like at Minehead Middle School?
Of the pupils at Minehead Middle School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 62% reached the expected standard in reading and 52% did so in maths.
What is Minehead Middle School's Ofsted rating?
Minehead Middle School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2023, it was rated Inadequate.
What is the catchment area for Minehead Middle School?
No fixed boundary. When Minehead Middle School is oversubscribed, Somerset allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Minehead Middle School?
Minehead Middle School was not full in 2025: it ran at 86% of its 648 places.
How big are the classes at Minehead Middle School?
Classes at Minehead Middle School average 28.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Minehead Middle School?
Minehead Middle School has around 570 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Minehead Middle School?
8.2% of sessions were missed at Minehead Middle School in 2024/25. 21.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Minehead Middle School?
Apply through Somerset's coordinated admissions process, naming Minehead Middle 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 Minehead Middle School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 1 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 Somerset is 3 (the median across 307 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Minehead Middle School?
Minehead Middle School is at Ponsford Road, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 5RH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)