New College Swindon, Swindon
New College Swindon is a post-16 school for pupils aged 16 to 99 in Swindon. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2025. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2026 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2025)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
New College Swindon in detail
New College Swindon in its own words
Coming up: an open day on Tuesday 3 November 2026, an open evening on Tuesday 3 November 2026, an open day on Wednesday 11 November 2026 and an open evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Swindon
Source: The school's own website
Where pupils go next
Of the 1951 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 22% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 36% into work. 5% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Swindon Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is New College (se-bound), 140 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood New College Swindon stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 459 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 Swindon (132), as is usual near a town centre.
Sources: DfE destination measures; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 7 months agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Contribution to meeting skills needs: Reasonable
Source: Ofsted, further education and skills inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2026 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
New College Swindon has made strong improvements in helping learners succeed, with more students now achieving their target grades and completing valuable work experience with major employers. The college provides excellent support for vulnerable learners and those with SEND through strengthened wellbeing services and tailored programmes. Learners benefit from high-quality careers guidance that helps them understand their next steps, whether to university, apprenticeships, or employment.
Key Strengths
- Increased proportion of young learners achieving their qualifications and target grades
- Strong work experience placements - three quarters of learners with high needs and a high proportion of sixth-form students have completed placements
- Effective progress monitoring systems allowing staff to intervene quickly when learners struggle
- Improved careers advice and guidance with dedicated apprenticeship adviser and industry-linked skills boards
- Governors now receive accurate, timely information enabling them to hold leaders accountable
Areas for Improvement
- Some learners still unaware of their target grades and personal targets
- Progress monitoring for learners with high needs and SEND on specialist courses needs further development
- Continued work needed to increase qualification achievement on entry-level courses for learners with SEND
Extracurricular Activities
Skills competitions, business challenge initiatives, careers-related tutorials, work experience placements, mock interviews with employers
New College Swindon is a further education college in Wiltshire with around 3,815 young learners, 3,468 adult learners, and 640 apprentices. This monitoring inspection found that leaders have made good progress in addressing areas identified for improvement in the previous inspection.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Sixth Form Performance (A-Level)
A-Level Results
C-
Average grade
26.2
Points per entry
C-
Best 3 A-Levels
3%
Achieving AAB+
Below average
Value added
327
A-Level students
85%
Retention rate
2024/25 academic year
A-Level Subjects Offered
+ 15 more subjects
2024/25 academic year - entries by number of students
After A-Levels - Leaver Destinations
After A-Levels (Year 13) - 1,951 students
2023/24 data
University & Higher Education Destinations
5%
Top-third university
43%
Degree course
50%
Any L4+ destination
1%
Apprenticeships
Based on 1,134 students completing 16-18 study
2022/23 cohort - "Top-third" = most selective third of UK universities by student intake
Latest from New College Swindon
Christmas Crafts at New College Swindon
23 Sep 2026
Paralympic Medallist Uses New College Swindon Gym to Train
8 Sep 2026
Apprenticeships are more than just grades
28 Aug 2026
Celebrations and Achievements for New College Swindon Inclusive Learning Students
17 Aug 2026
New College Swindon Textiles Student Works With Swindon Blind Association To Create A Wearable Experience
17 Jul 2026
‘Women in Screen Scholarship’ at Central Film School in London Awarded to New College Swindon Student
11 Jun 2026
From New College Swindon's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with New College Swindon
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 50
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 8
- Children hurt
- 12
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 50 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 42 slight.
12 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot, 5 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
13 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 Swindon is 15.5 (the median across 92 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
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Swindon
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Swindon
Across Swindon council
Places available
2,867
Applications
2,914
Got 1st preference
90.5%
Got preferred school
97.9%
All secondary applications across Swindon council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(10)
Questions parents ask about New College Swindon
What is New College Swindon's Ofsted rating?
New College Swindon's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2026, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2025, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for New College Swindon?
No fixed boundary. When New College Swindon is oversubscribed, Swindon allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How do I apply to New College Swindon?
Apply through Swindon's coordinated admissions process, naming New College Swindon on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near New College Swindon?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 50 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 42 slight. 12 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot, 5 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 13 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 Swindon is 15.5 (the median across 92 schools, same distance and years).
Where is New College Swindon?
New College Swindon is at New College Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 1AH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)