Stanchester Academy

Stanchester Academy has stabilised after a period of unsettled leadership following the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors found an orderly school where most pupils behave well and lessons are typically purposeful. The trust’s action to provide stable leadership has helped improve behaviour and attendance, and there are signs of rising standards in English and mathematics. Personal development is a clear strength, with strong careers education, valuable guidance and effective safeguarding; reading is central to school life and pupils benefit from a rich English curriculum, wider key stage 4 subject choices and a range of clubs and trips. However, the school still has significant work to do in the quality of education, behaviour and leadership. Pupils do not consistently learn the curriculum in enough depth, some subject content is too simple, and assessment is not used consistently to address gaps and misconceptions. Some pupils’ behaviour and attendance remain a concern, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and support for additional needs is not always clear or well evaluated. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic, and it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade under the current inspection framework.

Strengths

• Reading is central to school life, with a rich English curriculum and effective support for pupils who struggle with reading.
• Most pupils behave well and lessons typically proceed without disruption.
• Pupils enjoy supportive relationships with staff and are rewarded for reflecting the school’s values.
• The curriculum is increasingly ambitious, with a wider range of subjects offered at key stage 4.
• Recent improvements to assessment help staff check what pupils know and remember in some subjects.
• Teaching is often adapted to pupils’ SEND, and staff receive training to support this.
• Personal development is strong, including valuable guidance, wide-ranging careers advice and preparation for adulthood.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Attendance is improving due to stronger communication with parents.
• Pupils can take part in clubs, sports and trips abroad.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not learn some curriculum content in enough depth, and work in some subjects is too simple to build complex knowledge.
• GCSE outcomes have been weak in recent years, although English and mathematics show signs of improvement.
• Assessment checks are inconsistent, and teaching does not always identify or address gaps and misconceptions.
• Some pupils’ SEND needs are not understood or addressed effectively, and the purpose and impact of additional support are unclear.
• Some groups of pupils do not consistently meet the school’s high behaviour expectations, with lapses in conduct around the site and repeated sanctions.
• A high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are often absent, and support does not reliably lead to sustained attendance improvements.
• There is a lack of clarity between trust and school leaders about how well pupils access off-site alternative provision and whether it helps them fulfil their potential.

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 Stanchester Academy attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.1% 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, 8.5% of pupils at Stanchester Academy 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 Stanchester Academy had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 21.0% of pupils at Stanchester Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 2022–23 Stanchester Academy received £6,938 and spent £6,763 for each of its 787 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £214,000 (£272 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust, income was £7,660 and spending £7,853 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

Stanchester Academy is part of Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Maiden Beech Academy Crewkerne
• Brookside Community Primary School Street
• Bridgwater College Academy Bridgwater
• Hamp Academy Bridgwater
• Brymore Academy Bridgwater
• Otterhampton Primary School Bridgwater
• West Somerset College Minehead

What is Stanchester Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stanchester Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Stanchester Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Stanchester Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Stanchester Academy have?

Stanchester Academy has 829 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stanchester Academy cover?

Stanchester Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Stanchester Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.9, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Stanchester Academy?

Stanchester Academy is at East Stoke, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, TA14 6UG.