Kingsdown School

Kingsdown School is performing well overall, having been evaluated as 'Good' across all key areas including the quality of education, behavior and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Pupils express satisfaction with their experience, noting the school's high expectations and the improvements made since its first inspection. The focus on teaching and learning is evident, with staff supporting pupils effectively and fostering a positive school environment. There are significant efforts to enhance the curriculum, particularly in key stage 3 and 4, with increased participation in humanities and language subjects being a notable development.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and experience minimal disruption in learning.
• The school provides opportunities for leadership and personal development.
• Ambitious curriculum goals are in place for key subjects.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND is evident, leading to improved outcomes.
• Effective safeguarding measures ensure a secure environment for pupils.
• Teachers utilize assessment effectively to tailor learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils are over-represented in fixed-term exclusions.
• Curriculum implementation requires further development across all subjects.
• Leaders need to better analyze behavior data to prevent exclusions.

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 Kingsdown School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.3% 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, 9.1% of pupils at Kingsdown School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Kingsdown School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Kingsdown School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.1% 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 Kingsdown School received £8,217 and spent £8,457 for each of its 1,031 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,777,000 (£1,724 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of River Learning Trust, income was £8,007 and spending £7,763 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 Swindon · Swindon local authority: places and applications

Kingsdown School is part of River Learning Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Seven Fields Primary School Swindon
• Edith Moorhouse Primary School Carterton
• Windrush Church of England Primary School Witney
• Tower Hill Community Primary School Witney
• Witney Community Primary School Witney
• Madley Brook Community Primary School Witney
• Charlbury Primary School
• Rose Hill Primary School Oxford
• Wolvercote Primary School Oxford
• Larkrise Primary School Oxford

What is Kingsdown School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kingsdown School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Kingsdown School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kingsdown School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Kingsdown School have?

Kingsdown School has 1,108 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kingsdown School cover?

Kingsdown School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Kingsdown School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.9, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kingsdown School?

Kingsdown School is at Hyde Rd, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, SN2 7SH.