Kingdown School

Kingdown School is performing well, maintaining its status as a good school. The pupils demonstrate a commitment to high expectations set by the staff, and the school's motto, 'believe, aspire, achieve', is evident in its culture. Pupils feel safe and supported, demonstrating positive behavior that enhances learning. The curriculum offered is ambitious and well-structured, encouraging pupil engagement, particularly in subjects like modern foreign languages. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly in the use of assessments to tailor teaching to individual pupil needs effectively.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupil performance and behavior.
• Comprehensive personal, social, health and education curriculum.
• Strong focus on supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Effective management of behavior leading to minimal disruption in learning.
• Opportunities for pupil leadership and character development.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment to gauge pupil understanding across some subjects.
• Need for better adaptation of teaching based on assessment findings.

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 Kingdown School attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.8% 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, 8.3% of pupils at Kingdown School 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 Kingdown School had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.4% 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, 16.6% of pupils at Kingdown School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% 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 Kingdown School received £8,652 and spent £8,374 for each of its 1,407 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,461,000 (£1,038 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Acorn Education Trust, income was £8,177 and spending £8,032 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 Warminster · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Kingdown School is part of Acorn Education Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• St John's CofE School Warminster
• New Close Primary School Warminster
• The Avenue Primary School and Children's Centre Warminster
• Heytesbury Church of England Primary School Warminster
• Dilton Marsh CofE Primary School Westbury
• Chapmanslade Church of England Primary School Westbury
• West Ashton Church of England Primary School Trowbridge
• Willowbrook Primary School Trowbridge
• The Clarendon Academy Trowbridge
• Keevil CofE Primary School Trowbridge

What is Kingdown School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kingdown School is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was Kingdown School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kingdown School was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does Kingdown School have?

Kingdown School has 1,347 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kingdown School cover?

Kingdown School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Kingdown School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.8, and 41% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kingdown School?

Kingdown School is at Woodcock Road, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 9DR.