Uffculme School

Uffculme School is a strongly performing secondary school with an aspirational culture and consistently high expectations. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014; it is part of the Blackdown Education Partnership multi-academy trust. Inspectors judged quality of education and leadership and management as good, while behaviour and attitudes and personal development were outstanding. Pupils behave exceptionally well, attendance is consistently high, and the school offers a broad, ambitious curriculum alongside a rich extra-curricular programme. Pupils often achieve highly, especially in GCSE English and mathematics, and staff understand and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is reading in key stage 4. Although reading is a sharp focus in key stage 3, support for pupils who fall behind is not continued consistently into Years 10 and 11, and older pupils are not always encouraged to read widely. The report also notes that the proportion gaining the English Baccalaureate is below the national average, and that some disadvantaged pupils did not fulfil their potential in 2024. Leaders are taking well-thought-out action to address this.

Strengths

• Aspirational culture with very high expectations for behaviour and achievement
• Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school
• Personal development is outstanding, with a broad and rich extra-curricular offer
• Pupils often achieve highly, including strong GCSE English and mathematics results
• The curriculum is well considered and broad, with strong uptake in separate sciences and languages
• Staff understand and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well
• Attendance is consistently high
• Careers education is comprehensive and prepares pupils well for adult life
• Leadership is ambitious at all levels, with strong trust support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Reading has a sharp focus in key stage 3, with early identification and support

Areas for Improvement

• Reading support in key stage 3 is not continued consistently for pupils in key stage 4
• Older pupils are not ensured to read widely in Years 10 and 11
• Less confident readers in key stage 4 are not supported as effectively
• The proportion of pupils gaining the English Baccalaureate is lower than the national average
• Some disadvantaged pupils did not fulfil their potential in 2024

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 Uffculme School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.2% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Uffculme School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Uffculme School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.3% 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, 12.0% of pupils at Uffculme School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.1% 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 Uffculme School received £7,711 and spent £7,959 for each of its 1,085 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £72,000 (£67 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Blackdown Education Partnership, income was £7,733 and spending £7,770 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 Cullompton · Devon local authority: places and applications

Uffculme School is part of Blackdown Education Partnership, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Uffculme Primary School Cullompton
• Cullompton Community College Cullompton
• Court Fields School Wellington
• Wellesley Park Primary School Wellington
• Tiverton High School Tiverton
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School Wellington
• Orchard Grove Primary School Taunton
• Clyst Vale Community College Exeter
• Bishops Hull Primary School Taunton
• The Castle School Taunton

What is Uffculme School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Uffculme School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Uffculme School last inspected by Ofsted?

Uffculme School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Uffculme School have?

Uffculme School has 1,093 pupils on roll.

What age range does Uffculme School cover?

Uffculme School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Uffculme School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 54.6, and 65% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Uffculme School?

Uffculme School is at Chapel Hill, Uffculme, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 3AG.