Chipping Sodbury School

Chipping Sodbury School is a generally orderly and inclusive school where pupils feel safe and have positive relationships with staff. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school is meeting expected standards in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision. Attendance is in line with national averages and improving, behaviour expectations have been raised, and pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are generally well supported. The specialist resource provision for autistic pupils is a notable strength. The main areas for improvement are achievement and the quality of curriculum and teaching. Teaching is too variable, and in key stages 3 and 4 pupils do not consistently deepen their knowledge or build well enough on prior learning. GCSE outcomes have improved and are now closer to national averages, but performance remains inconsistent across subjects, including maths, and some pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be. The careers programme is not yet strongly embedded, so some pupils lack a clear understanding of how to achieve their ambitions. The school is part of the Althelstan Trust and has new school and trust leaders who have quickly identified priorities and begun improvements. The sixth form is closing permanently in August 2027 and is currently co-delivered with Brimsham Green School, with only Year 13 students on roll; published post-16 outcomes therefore do not reflect current students’ achievement. Leaders have a clear vision for improving teaching, but it is too soon to see the full impact of these changes.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Attendance is in line with national averages and improving, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Behaviour expectations have been raised and the school is generally calm and purposeful.
• Pupils have positive attitudes, respectful relationships and a sense of belonging.
• Bullying is uncommon and unkind or discriminatory behaviour is dealt with promptly.
• Leaders identify SEND needs quickly and provide effective support, including in the specialist resource base.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively, including through attendance work and pupil premium oversight.
• New school and trust leaders have a clear vision and have quickly strengthened behaviour and attendance.
• Governance and trust oversight are strong, with inclusion at the centre and appropriate challenge to leaders.
• Personal development is effective, with pastoral support, safety and relationships education, clubs and pupil leadership roles.
• Post-16 students receive strong pastoral care and are generally well prepared for their next steps.
• The curriculum is typically ambitious and sequenced, with phonics support for pupils who need it.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching quality is too variable across subjects.
• Staff do not consistently build on what pupils already know and can do.
• Pupils do not consistently deepen their knowledge and understanding in key stages 3 and 4.
• Achievement is inconsistent across subjects, and maths performance has only recently aligned with national averages.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for their next steps.
• The careers programme is not strongly embedded, leaving some pupils unclear about how to achieve their ambitions.
• It is too soon to evaluate the full impact of improvements to curriculum and teaching.

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 Chipping Sodbury School attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.1% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Chipping Sodbury School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Chipping Sodbury School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Chipping Sodbury School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% 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 Chipping Sodbury School received £8,140 and spent £7,990 for each of its 769 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £274,000 (-£356 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of The Athelstan Trust, income was £7,641 and spending £7,380 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

Chipping Sodbury School is part of The Athelstan Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Leighterton Primary School Tetbury
• Sir William Romney's School Tetbury
• Malmesbury School Malmesbury
• Charter Primary School Chippenham
• Avening Primary School Tetbury
• Kings Lodge Primary School Chippenham
• Abbeyfield School Chippenham
• The Dean Academy Lydney
• Bradon Forest School Swindon

What is Chipping Sodbury School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chipping Sodbury School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Chipping Sodbury School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chipping Sodbury School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Chipping Sodbury School have?

Chipping Sodbury School has 775 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chipping Sodbury School cover?

Chipping Sodbury School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Chipping Sodbury School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.0, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Chipping Sodbury School?

Chipping Sodbury School is at Bowling Road, Chipping Sodbury, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, BS37 6EW.