Sarum Academy, Salisbury

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Sarum Academy. Rooted in the values and traditions of the Church of England, our academy is a vibrant, inclusive, and nurturing community where every individual is valued and supported to achieve their full potential."

In 2026, pupils at Sarum Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 32.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Wiltshire and 47 across England.

19% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Wiltshire and 47% in England.

That is down from 33.7 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.62: pupils made well 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 25.6, against 36.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 16 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Religious Studies and History.

For September 2026 entry, 105 families put Sarum Academy as their first choice and 169 named it as one of their preferences, for 116 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 Sarum Academy are South Wilts Grammar School (1.6 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 76.5); Five Rivers Online School (2.1 miles); Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School (2.3 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 73.5); and Wyvern St Edmund's Academy (2.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Sarum Academy.

Sarum Academy is one of 11 schools run by Magna Learning Partnership, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41 in 2024/25.

Of the 108 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 79% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 40% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 42 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 17% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 52% into work. 3% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

38.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 6.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 133 pupils (17.8%) received SEN support and 57 (7.6%) 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.

The nearest railway station is Salisbury Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Sarum Academy (nw-bound), 30 metres away.

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

In August 2026, police recorded 80 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Wiltshire (34), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Sarum Academy issued 220 suspensions, 28.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Sarum Academy are Woodlands Primary School (0.3 miles), St. Peter's CE Primary Academy (0.7 miles), Pembroke Park Primary School (0.8 miles) and Bemerton St John Church of England Primary (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.