Court Fields School

Court Fields School has made significant progress since its last inspection and is now considered to be operating at a good standard across all areas. The leadership team has fostered a positive school culture where students feel safe and valued, and the majority of parents report that their children are thriving. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with improvements noted in the uptake of modern foreign languages among older students, indicating effective planning and support for diverse learning needs, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, challenges remain in ensuring that assessment practices are uniformly precise across all subjects to prevent misconceptions among students.

Strengths

• Strong leadership committed to high standards
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Varied extracurricular activities enhancing personal development
• Pupils feel safe and supported in a welcoming environment
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• High staff morale and effective communication
• Proactive approach to safeguarding

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment practices leading to misconceptions in some subjects
• Minority of pupils showing a lack of positive attitude towards learning

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 Court Fields School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.4% 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, 9.3% of pupils at Court Fields 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 Court Fields School had 16.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Court Fields School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 Court Fields School received £8,278 and spent £8,290 for each of its 826 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £931,000 (£1,127 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Blackdown Education Partnership, income was £7,733 and spending £7,770 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 Wellington · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Court Fields School is part of Blackdown Education Partnership, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Wellesley Park Primary School Wellington
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel Primary School Wellington
• Orchard Grove Primary School Taunton
• Bishops Hull Primary School Taunton
• The Castle School Taunton
• Uffculme Primary School Cullompton
• Uffculme School Cullompton
• Cullompton Community College Cullompton
• Tiverton High School Tiverton
• Neroche Primary School Ilminster

What is Court Fields School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Court Fields School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Court Fields School last inspected by Ofsted?

Court Fields School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Court Fields School have?

Court Fields School has 861 pupils on roll.

What age range does Court Fields School cover?

Court Fields School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Court Fields School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.0, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Court Fields School?

Court Fields School is at Mantle Street, Wellington, Somerset, TA21 8SW.