Tewkesbury Academy

Tewkesbury Academy has made significant improvements with support from the Cabot Learning Federation, which it joined in July 2023. Pupils are safe, behaviour expectations have been raised, and the school is ambitious for all pupils. The curriculum is broad and tailored to the school, reading support is effective, pupils with SEND are accurately identified, and attendance is improving. Personal development is strong, with a wide range of clubs, leadership roles and careers activities, and safeguarding is effective. The sixth form is also improving, with current students now better prepared than suggested by previous published outcomes. Leaders, governors and the trust have a clear drive to continue improvement, and staff receive useful professional development through trust networks. However, some pupils’ behaviour still falls below expectations and is not always challenged consistently by staff, which can disrupt learning. Communication with parents and other stakeholders is not as effective as it could be: some parents are unaware of improvements, and there are insufficient opportunities for constructive feedback. Overall, this is a school that has improved markedly and is now performing well across its key areas, while still having clear, specific work to do on behaviour consistency and stakeholder communication.

Strengths

• Pupils are safe and have trusted adults to help with concerns
• Bullying is not tolerated and pupils have routes to report concerns
• Behaviour expectations have been raised with clear and fair rewards and sanctions
• The curriculum is broad, bespoke and tailored to pupils’ needs and local context
• Trust professional development and support networks have enabled rapid improvement
• Reading is prioritised, with swift and effective support for pupils who need it
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and curriculum adaptations are effective
• Attendance is a key priority and persistent absence has reduced
• Personal development is strong, with clubs, leadership roles and house system activities
• Careers education and the sixth-form Futures programme prepare pupils well for next steps
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Governance provides appropriate support and challenge
• Sixth-form students are now significantly better prepared for their qualifications

Areas for Improvement

• High expectations for pupils’ behaviour are not consistently upheld across the school
• Some low-level behaviour disrupts learning when staff do not challenge it
• Communication with parents and stakeholders is not as effective as it could be
• Parents are not fully aware of improvements and their positive impact
• Stakeholders have insufficient opportunities to provide constructive feedback
• The number of pupils completing the English Baccalaureate is currently low

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 Tewkesbury Academy attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.4% 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, 8.9% of pupils at Tewkesbury Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Tewkesbury Academy had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.7% 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, 16.5% of pupils at Tewkesbury Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.6% 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 Tewkesbury Academy received £8,209 and spent £8,553 for each of its 1,111 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £648,000 (£584 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Cabot Learning Federation, income was £8,647 and spending £8,763 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 Tewkesbury · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Tewkesbury Academy is part of Cabot Learning Federation, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• Queen Margaret Primary Academy Tewkesbury
• Brook Academy Gloucester
• Frome Vale Academy Bristol
• Wallscourt Farm Academy Bristol
• Begbrook Primary Academy Bristol
• Bristol Metropolitan Academy Bristol
• Minerva Primary Academy Bristol
• King's Oak Academy Bristol
• Digitech Studio School Bristol
• Bristol Brunel Academy Bristol

What is Tewkesbury Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tewkesbury Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Tewkesbury Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Tewkesbury Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Tewkesbury Academy have?

Tewkesbury Academy has 1,019 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tewkesbury Academy cover?

Tewkesbury Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Tewkesbury Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.4, and 27% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Tewkesbury Academy?

Tewkesbury Academy is at Ashchurch Road, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8DF.