Cotham School

Cotham School remains a good educational institution known for its diverse and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and supported. The staff have high expectations for all students, fostering an atmosphere of respect and achievement. The school places significant emphasis on a broad and ambitious curriculum that connects education to potential career paths, enhancing students' broader development alongside subject knowledge. Leadership is proactive in engaging with the community and addressing pupils' needs, leading to positive attitudes towards learning.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and valued, contributing positively to the school environment.
• Strong subject knowledge among teachers, particularly in the sixth form.
• High-quality support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Effective measures for improving attendance.
• Engagement with parents and the community, celebrating diversity.

Areas for Improvement

• Occasional misalignment between the work given to pupils and the ambition of the curriculum.

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 Cotham School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.8% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Cotham School 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 Cotham School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.8% 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, 20.7% of pupils at Cotham School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.1% 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 Cotham School received £7,865 and spent £7,817 for each of its 1,659 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,855,000 (£1,118 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.

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What is Cotham School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cotham School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Cotham School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cotham School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Cotham School have?

Cotham School has 1,654 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cotham School cover?

Cotham School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Cotham School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.1, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cotham School?

Cotham School is at Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6 6DT.