The Kings of Wessex Academy

The Kings of Wessex Academy is performing well, maintaining the standards identified in its previous inspection. The school has a proud community where pupils and staff thrive, and there is a notable focus on both academic achievement and the development of wider skills. The headteacher, David Wiltshire, alongside the support of the Wessex Learning Trust, drives a culture of high expectations, especially for disadvantaged pupils. Positive student behavior and respectful relationships contribute to a safe and conducive learning environment. While the school demonstrates many strong features, there are areas of the curriculum that lack ambition, potentially limiting some students' learning opportunities. Although significant steps have been made to challenge sixth-form students, there remains a need for improvement in how assessments are utilized to better inform teaching practices across the board. Overall, the school exhibits a commitment to developing responsible and active citizens, supported by a robust personal development curriculum and effective safeguarding arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils show pride in their school community.
• High expectations for pupil behavior with a fair and consistently applied reward system.
• Ambitious curriculum preparing students for future studies.
• Strong personal development curriculum fostering responsible citizenship.
• Effective identification of students' special educational needs and adaptations made to support them.
• Encouragement of reading through diverse and engaging literature choices.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment methods do not always accurately identify pupils' understanding.
• Some curriculum areas lack sufficient challenge for all pupils.

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 The Kings of Wessex Academy attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.2% 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, 4.3% of pupils at The Kings of Wessex Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 The Kings of Wessex Academy had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.9% 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, 8.8% of pupils at The Kings of Wessex Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.2% 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 The Kings of Wessex Academy received £10,012 and spent £9,783 for each of its 1,051 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £804,000 (£765 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Wessex Learning Trust, income was £7,524 and spending £7,371 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 Somerset · Somerset local authority: places and applications

The Kings of Wessex Academy is part of Wessex Learning Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Cheddar First School Cheddar
• Fairlands Middle School Cheddar
• Draycott & Rodney Stoke Church of England First School Draycott
• Axbridge Church of England First School Academy Axbridge
• Shipham Church of England First School Winscombe
• Weare Academy First School Axbridge
• Winscombe Primary School Winscombe
• Wedmore First School Academy Wedmore
• Hugh Sexey Church of England Middle School Wedmore
• Sandford Primary School Winscombe

What is The Kings of Wessex Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Kings of Wessex Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was The Kings of Wessex Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Kings of Wessex Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does The Kings of Wessex Academy have?

The Kings of Wessex Academy has 1,043 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Kings of Wessex Academy cover?

The Kings of Wessex Academy for pupils aged 13 to 18.

Where is The Kings of Wessex Academy?

The Kings of Wessex Academy is at Station Road, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3AQ.