Oasis Academy Brightstowe

Oasis Academy Brightstowe is a school in transition after an unsettled period. New leadership has begun to get things back on track: staffing is stable, behaviour has improved, pupils move calmly around school and arrive ready to learn, and pupils and staff are positive about the changes. Published Year 11 outcomes are low, but achievement is improving from a low base, and safeguarding is effective. Personal development and leadership are strengths, while the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes are not yet good enough. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, SEND identification and support have improved, early reading support is effective, and careers and enrichment are well planned. However, assessment checks do not give teachers a full picture of what pupils know, the numeracy curriculum does not meet the needs of pupils with insecure early numeracy, and too many pupils still do not attend school regularly. The trust must ensure assessment, attendance and early numeracy are addressed so that the changed culture translates into consistently better achievement.

Strengths

• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum across subjects
• Structured routines help pupils recall and revisit learning
• Calm movement around school and punctual, ready starts to lessons
• Stable staffing and positive relationships between pupils and adults
• Strong pastoral and safeguarding support; pupils feel safe
• Improved SEND identification and comprehensive interventions, including Step Up
• Effective reading support for pupils in the early stages of learning to read
• Comprehensive careers curriculum with providers, employers and work experience
• Personal development and PSHE prepare pupils for life in modern Britain
• Wide enrichment and house competitions with good pupil participation
• Robust attendance strategies are improving attendance from low starting points
• Leadership has begun to get the school back on track, with valued professional development and trust support

Areas for Improvement

• Quality of education requires improvement
• Behaviour and attitudes require improvement
• Assessment checks are not fully effective, so staff do not know what all pupils understand and need to learn next
• Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough, hindering their learning
• Numeracy curriculum does not sufficiently meet the needs of pupils with insecure early numeracy
• Published Year 11 outcomes are low and the changed culture has not yet impacted results
• Some areas of school development are not yet well embedded

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Oasis Academy Brightstowe attended 85.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 39.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 16.9% of pupils at Oasis Academy Brightstowe were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Oasis Academy Brightstowe had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.9% of pupils at Oasis Academy Brightstowe were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Oasis Academy Brightstowe received £9,955 and spent £10,606 for each of its 739 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £648,000 (£877 per pupil).

Across all 56 schools of Oasis Community Learning, income was £9,249 and spending £9,031 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Oasis Academy Brightstowe is part of Oasis Community Learning, which runs 57 schools. The nearest others:

• Oasis Academy Long Cross Bristol
• Oasis Academy Bank Leaze Bristol
• Oasis Academy Temple Quarter Bristol
• Oasis Academy Marksbury Road Bedminster
• Oasis Academy Daventry Road Bristol
• Oasis Academy Connaught Bristol
• Oasis Academy New Oak Bristol
• Oasis Academy John Williams Bristol
• Oasis Academy Brislington Bristol
• Oasis Academy Warndon Worcester

What is Oasis Academy Brightstowe's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oasis Academy Brightstowe is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Oasis Academy Brightstowe last inspected by Ofsted?

Oasis Academy Brightstowe was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Oasis Academy Brightstowe have?

Oasis Academy Brightstowe has 741 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oasis Academy Brightstowe cover?

Oasis Academy Brightstowe for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Oasis Academy Brightstowe's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 33.7, and 21% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Oasis Academy Brightstowe?

Oasis Academy Brightstowe is at Penpole Lane, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 0EB.