Swindon Academy, Swindon

Ofsted's report card from its 19 May 2026 inspection grades Swindon Academy on 8 areas: 3 strong standard and 5 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Early years - Strong standard. "Children get off to a great start in the early years."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders have a precise understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "With support from the trust, the school has developed an ambitious personal development programme."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Pupils in the secondary phase, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve impressive outcomes at the end of Year 11."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have a detailed understanding of pupils' attendance across the school."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The school provides a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils, from nursery through to Year 13."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders accurately identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have carefully considered the needs of students in the local area when developing the post-16 curriculum."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should strengthen ongoing work to address gaps in writing knowledge across all phases, monitoring this closely to ensure it has the intended impact"; "Leaders should strengthen their oversight of the academic provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They should support staff to adapt the curriculum to meet pupils needs and ensure that progress is carefully monitored and reviewed".

Coming up: an open evening on Monday 7 December 2026 at 5pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Swindon Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45 in Swindon and 47 across England.

54% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Swindon and 47% in England.

That is down from 50.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.61: pupils made well 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 38.1, against 55.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Spanish.

For September 2026 entry, 224 families put Swindon Academy as their first choice and 442 named it as one of their preferences, for 200 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 37 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Swindon Academy are Nova Hreod Academy (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.6); UTC Swindon (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 32.3); Kingsdown School (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.9); and St Joseph's Catholic College (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.2).

Swindon Academy's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Swindon Academy is one of 98 schools run by United Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49 in 2024/25.

Of the 188 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 29% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 73 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 53% went on to university or other higher education and 18% into work. 8% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

35.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 40.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (50%), Asian (21%) and Black (8%).

In 2026, 306 pupils (16.8%) received SEN support and 41 (2.3%) 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 Swindon Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Linden Avenue (e-bound), 170 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 230 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.

In 2024/25, Swindon Academy issued 682 suspensions, 36.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Swindon Academy are Rodbourne Cheney Primary School (0.6 miles), Greenmeadow Primary School (0.6 miles), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles) and Seven Fields Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.