SGS Forest High School

SGS Forest High School is a smaller-than-average secondary school in the South Gloucestershire and Stroud Academy trust, serving a relatively disadvantaged intake and a much higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEND. Safeguarding standards are met, and personal development and wellbeing are at the expected standard. Pupils benefit from a strong personal development, careers and extracurricular offer, attendance is broadly in line with national averages, and disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND attend above average. Most pupils behave well, bullying is uncommon, and relationships with staff are generally positive. However, the school is not yet meeting expected standards in achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, or leadership and governance. Examination results are below national averages, teaching is too variable, and pupils with SEND often do not receive consistent adaptations or support. Behaviour support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is not effective enough, which is reflected in sustained high suspension rates. Leaders understand the issues, but improvements have not been quick or effective enough, and trust governance has only recently begun to provide sufficient challenge and information. There are early signs of improvement in English and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils' attendance and achievement have improved in some areas. The next steps focus on consistently supporting pupils with barriers to learning and wellbeing, identifying and remedying gaps in knowledge and basic skills, raising achievement, improving behaviour support for disadvantaged and SEND pupils, and embedding improvements quickly.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils who feel safe.
• Leaders have designed an effective personal development programme covering PSHE, healthy relationships and online safety.
• Careers teaching and experiences prepare pupils for a wide range of academic, technical and other next steps.
• A range of extracurricular activities, trips and performances develop pupils' talents, interests and confidence.
• Pupils learn about fundamental British values and why celebrating difference matters.
• Attendance is broadly in line with national averages, with above-average attendance for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Leaders work effectively to reduce absence and persistent absence through early action and family support.
• Most pupils behave well, bullying is uncommon, and staff resolve issues quickly.
• Disadvantaged pupils typically progress well through the curriculum and perform in line with disadvantaged peers nationally.
• Leaders provide effective support for pupils known to social care, including children in care.
• Leaders have a well-informed pupil premium strategy and have improved disadvantaged pupils' attendance and achievement in some areas.
• Staff are caring, know pupils well and help most pupils feel a sense of belonging.
• Leaders provide suitable professional learning and are mindful of staff workload and wellbeing.
• Leaders generally build positive relationships with parents and the wider community.

Areas for Improvement

• Published examination outcomes are below national averages and pupils often do not deepen their knowledge sufficiently.
• Teaching quality is too variable, with inconsistent checking of understanding and misconceptions sometimes going unchallenged.
• Teaching does not consistently adapt to meet the needs of pupils with SEND, so they do not learn as well as they could.
• Some pupils with SEND do not build their knowledge and skills well.
• Gaps in some pupils' basic skills, including number and handwriting, do not close quickly.
• Suspension rates are sustained and high for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND to improve behaviour is not having enough impact.
• Leaders sometimes do not plan precisely enough how staff should support pupils with SEND.
• Work to help some disadvantaged pupils improve their behaviour is in its infancy.
• Leaders' actions to bring about improvements have not been quick or effective enough.
• Pupils' experiences in school vary too much, and some pupils who need additional support do not consistently receive it.
• Until recently, trustees had not held leaders strongly enough to account for prioritising necessary changes.
• Local governors have only recently begun to receive the information they need to fully understand the school's effectiveness.
• Pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be.

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 SGS Forest High School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.6% 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, 27.6% of pupils at SGS Forest High School 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 SGS Forest High School had 13.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.3% 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, 25.5% of pupils at SGS Forest High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.9% 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 SGS Forest High School received £11,047 and spent £11,107 for each of its 258 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £454,000 (-£1,759 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of South Gloucestershire and Stroud Academy Trust, income was £12,979 and spending £13,312 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 Cinderford · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

SGS Forest High School is part of South Gloucestershire and Stroud Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• SGS Berkeley Green UTC Berkeley
• SGS Pegasus School Bristol

What is SGS Forest High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for SGS Forest High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was SGS Forest High School last inspected by Ofsted?

SGS Forest High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does SGS Forest High School have?

SGS Forest High School has 255 pupils on roll.

What age range does SGS Forest High School cover?

SGS Forest High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are SGS Forest High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 32.9, and 18% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is SGS Forest High School?

SGS Forest High School is at Causeway Road, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 2AZ.