Nailsea School, Bristol

From the headteacher's welcome: "Nailsea is an inclusive school community, driven by an underlying ethos captured in three simple words: ‘Aspire -Believe - Succeed’. We care not only about the academic development of our students but also their emotional and personal development."

On phones, the school says: "If any student persists in using a phone parents will be asked to collect the confiscated item."

In 2026, pupils at Nailsea School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.5 in North Somerset and 47 across England.

43% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in North Somerset and 47% in England.

That is down from 52.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.26: pupils made above 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 41.1, against 47.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.7 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 190 families put Nailsea School as their first choice and 400 named it as one of their preferences, for 197 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Nailsea School are Backwell School (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.6); Gordano School (3.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.1); Clevedon School (3.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.3); and St Katherine's School (4.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.2).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Nailsea School.

Nailsea School is one of 23 schools run by Wessex Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 173 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 90% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 33% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 86 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 48% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 33% into work. 28% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

12.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 149 pupils (12.4%) received SEN support and 81 (6.8%) 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 autism.

Nailsea School has a resourced provision for autism: 25 places, 19 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Nailsea & Backwell Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Secondary School (sw-bound), 160 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Nailsea School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Nailsea School issued 33 suspensions, 2.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Nailsea School are St Francis Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles), Golden Valley Primary School (0.3 miles), Hannah More Infant School (0.6 miles) and Grove Junior School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.