Devizes School

Devizes School is a secondary comprehensive and sixth form in the White Horse Federation. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors found the school performing well across its key judgements, with safeguarding effective. Pupils are polite, respectful and feel safe, relationships are warm, and the school is calm and orderly with lessons largely free from disruption. The curriculum is ambitious and thoughtfully sequenced, teaching is strong, and pupils achieve well in public examinations. Personal development is thorough, extracurricular opportunities are broad and accessible, and sixth-form students feel well prepared for their next steps. The school is well supported by the trust and a new local governance committee, and staff value leaders' support. The main concerns are that some pupils miss valuable learning because of high suspension rates and persistent absence, especially among disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Teaching and the curriculum are not always consistently adapted to meet the needs of some pupils with SEND, and the impact of reading interventions is not checked closely enough. Some curriculum areas are less developed than others, although leaders have plans to improve them.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, considerate and respectful, and they feel safe at school
• The school is calm and orderly, with lessons free of disruption
• The curriculum is ambitious and thoughtfully sequenced so knowledge builds over time
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present information precisely
• Checks on pupils' learning are generally effective and help identify gaps
• Pupils produce high-quality work and achieve outcomes above the national average
• Additional reading support helps pupils become increasingly fluent and confident readers
• SEND needs are accurately identified and staff receive detailed strategies
• The personal development programme is thorough, including healthy relationships and online safety
• Pupils value a broad range of accessible extracurricular clubs, trips and visits
• Sixth-form students are positive about their experience and feel well prepared for next steps
• Sixth-form students benefit from a strong pastoral programme with careers guidance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• The trust and local governance committee provide support and challenge
• Behaviour and rewards systems are applied consistently by staff

Areas for Improvement

• A high number of suspensions means some pupils, including vulnerable pupils, miss important learning
• Persistent absence is too high among disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND
• Teaching and the curriculum are not always consistently adapted to meet the needs of some pupils with SEND
• The impact of reading interventions is not checked closely enough to ensure pupils benefit as intended
• Some curriculum areas are less developed than others, although plans are in place to improve them
• Not all parents are aware of the positive impact of the changes the school is making

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 Devizes School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.0% 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, 9.5% of pupils at Devizes 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 Devizes School had 19.1 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, 22.3% of pupils at Devizes School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% 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 Devizes School received £8,644 and spent £8,235 for each of its 990 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £616,000 (£622 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of The White Horse Federation, income was £7,712 and spending £7,474 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 Devizes · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Devizes School is part of The White Horse Federation, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Southbroom Infants' School Devizes
• Seend Church of England Primary School Melksham
• Melksham Oak Community School Melksham
• Forest and Sandridge Church of England Primary School Melksham
• Bowerhill Primary School Melksham
• The Manor CofE VC Primary School Melksham
• St George's Church of England Primary School, Semington Trowbridge
• Shaw CE Primary School Melksham
• St Mary's Broughton Gifford Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Melksham
• Larkhill Primary School Salisbury

What is Devizes School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Devizes School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Devizes School last inspected by Ofsted?

Devizes School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Devizes School have?

Devizes School has 947 pupils on roll.

What age range does Devizes School cover?

Devizes School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Devizes School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.6, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Devizes School?

Devizes School is at The Green, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 3AG.