Nailsea School

Nailsea School has made significant improvements since its previous inspection, achieving a 'Good' rating overall, with 'Outstanding' performance in sixth-form provision. The school fosters a welcoming and inclusive community where pupils exhibit pride in their school, resulting in good behavior and strong relationships with staff. The curriculum is well-structured and most pupils achieve well, with strengths in reading support and the broad extracurricular offerings, especially in sports. However, the school still encounters challenges in ensuring that all areas of the curriculum are delivered effectively and uniformly.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive community.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff.
• Broad and well-structured curriculum.
• High-quality sixth-form provision.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Strong extracurricular activities, particularly in sports.
• High standards of behavior and attendance.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding.
• Variable quality of personal development curriculum delivery.

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 Nailsea School attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.8% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Nailsea 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 Nailsea School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Nailsea School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 18 pupils.

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 Nailsea School received £7,745 and spent £7,826 for each of its 1,157 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,107,000 (£957 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 Bristol · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

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

• Sandford Primary School Winscombe
• Shipham Church of England First School Winscombe
• Winscombe Primary School Winscombe
• Kewstoke Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Axbridge Church of England First School Academy Axbridge
• Cheddar First School Cheddar
• Fairlands Middle School Cheddar
• The Kings of Wessex Academy Cheddar
• Weare Academy First School Axbridge
• Draycott & Rodney Stoke Church of England First School Draycott

What is Nailsea School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Nailsea School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Nailsea School last inspected by Ofsted?

Nailsea School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Nailsea School have?

Nailsea School has 1,197 pupils on roll.

What age range does Nailsea School cover?

Nailsea School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Nailsea School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.6, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Nailsea School?

Nailsea School is at Mizzymead Road, Nailsea, Bristol, Somerset, BS48 2HN.