Winterbourne Academy

Winterbourne Academy is a large secondary school within the Olympus Academy Trust, with a sixth form, serving approximately 1,783 pupils. Following this full section 5 inspection, the school has been judged to be performing at the expected standard across all evaluated areas, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found that pupils achieve well overall, with many subjects performing above national averages at GCSE and improving outcomes over time. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are generally supported to progress well from their starting points, and attendance is in line with national averages. Behaviour is positive, pupils feel safe, and the school offers a broad, ambitious curriculum taught effectively by well-supported staff.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well overall, with many subjects above national averages at GCSE and improving achievement over time
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with careful planning to build pupils' knowledge and understanding
• Teaching is generally strong, supported by high-quality, research-informed professional development for staff
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are identified early and typically supported to progress well
• Attendance is in line with national averages and improving, with effective actions to remove barriers
• Pupils behave positively, showing courtesy and respect, contributing to a calm and orderly atmosphere
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and robust checks in place
• Pastoral support and personal development are highly effective, including the Wellbeing Hub and wide enrichment opportunities
• Careers education is very strong, preparing pupils well for their next steps in education, employment or training
• Leadership and governance are effective, with high expectations, accurate self-knowledge and thoughtful staff workload consideration

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment strategies are not consistently used to address misconceptions, meaning some pupils do not progress as well as they could
• Adaptations to remove barriers to learning are not consistently applied by teachers, so some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as their peers
• Attendance, while improving, remains an area for further refinement and evaluation of actions to ensure all pupils attend regularly
• In a small number of post-16 lessons, teaching is less effective, meaning students do not achieve as well
• A small number of pupils have not yet gained all the personal development knowledge leaders expect
• Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8 was below national average in 2023/24, with a persistent disadvantage gap in English and maths GCSE outcomes

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 Winterbourne Academy attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.6% 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, 6.6% of pupils at Winterbourne Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Winterbourne Academy had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.2% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Winterbourne Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% 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 Winterbourne Academy received £7,645 and spent £7,559 for each of its 1,785 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,309,000 (£734 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of The Olympus Academy Trust, income was £7,840 and spending £7,814 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 · South Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Winterbourne Academy is part of The Olympus Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Bradley Stoke Community School Bristol
• Meadowbrook Primary School Bristol
• Abbeywood Community School Bristol
• Stoke Lodge Primary School Bristol
• Filton Hill Primary School Bristol
• Patchway Community School Almondsbury
• Lyde Green Community School Bristol
• Callicroft Primary School Bristol
• Charborough Road Primary School Bristol

What is Winterbourne Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Winterbourne Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Winterbourne Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Winterbourne Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Winterbourne Academy have?

Winterbourne Academy has 1,741 pupils on roll.

What age range does Winterbourne Academy cover?

Winterbourne Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Winterbourne Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.6, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Winterbourne Academy?

Winterbourne Academy is at High Street, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS36 1JL.