The City Academy Bristol

The City Academy Bristol continues to maintain its good standards since the previous inspection, demonstrating effective leadership and a commitment to high expectations for all pupils. The school provides a vibrant and inclusive environment where cultural diversity is celebrated, and students feel safe and supported. There is a strong focus on personal development, offering a range of extracurricular activities, although participation remains limited among some pupils. The school has implemented effective support systems for pupils with special educational needs, helping them to develop confidence and improve their learning outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending and feel proud to be part of the school community.
• High expectations lead to good academic progress and respectful relationships.
• Successful support for pupils with SEND fosters confidence and improved learning.
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge and effective content delivery.
• A well-considered personal development program promoting safety and health.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment practices can lead to misconceptions among pupils.
• Low participation in work experience placements limits breadth of experience.
• Limited engagement in extracurricular activities by a minority of pupils.

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 The City Academy Bristol attended 87.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 40.8% 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, 29.1% of pupils at The City Academy Bristol 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 The City Academy Bristol had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.9% 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, 19.2% of pupils at The City Academy Bristol were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.7% 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 The City Academy Bristol received £10,722 and spent £11,071 for each of its 980 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £572,000 (£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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

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

• Evergreen Primary Academy Bristol
• Summerhill Academy Bristol
• Wicklea Academy Bristol
• Bristol Brunel Academy Bristol
• Bristol Metropolitan Academy Bristol
• John Cabot Academy Bristol
• Begbrook Primary Academy Bristol
• Minerva Primary Academy Bristol
• Hanham Woods Academy Bristol
• Wallscourt Farm Academy Bristol

What is The City Academy Bristol's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The City Academy Bristol is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was The City Academy Bristol last inspected by Ofsted?

The City Academy Bristol was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does The City Academy Bristol have?

The City Academy Bristol has 977 pupils on roll.

What age range does The City Academy Bristol cover?

The City Academy Bristol for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The City Academy Bristol's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.5, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The City Academy Bristol?

The City Academy Bristol is at Russell Town Avenue, Bristol, Avon, BS5 9JH.