Huish Episcopi Academy

Huish Episcopi Academy is a larger than average secondary school and part of United Learning Trust. This full section 5 inspection found a school that has improved rapidly in recent years, with leaders, governance and the trust working effectively together. Pupils are proud to attend, describe the culture as transformed, and benefit from a calm, safe and positive environment. Safeguarding standards are met, and leadership and personal development are particular strengths. Staff feel highly valued and well supported, and pupils access an extensive programme of enrichment, careers and personal development. Academic achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and post-16 provision are all judged to be at the expected standard. Pupils generally achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils, and attendance is now in line with national averages while suspensions and exclusions have fallen significantly. However, some weaker areas remain. Foundational literacy knowledge, particularly handwriting, spelling and oracy, is not yet secure for all pupils, and assessment practice is inconsistent in a few subjects so gaps can persist. Monitoring of pupils with SEND is not always swift enough to remove barriers, and attendance, especially for vulnerable pupils, needs to continue improving. The sixth form is well led and students are supported into appropriate next steps, but last year's progress from starting points was less positive than national peers and A-level value added was below average in 2024/25. The next steps rightly focus on ensuring teaching consistently checks and secures pupils' understanding, embedding foundational literacy, and sustaining improvements in attendance and persistent absence.

Strengths

• Leaders have made rapid and sustained improvements and created a positive culture where pupils achieve, belong and thrive.
• Governance and trust support are effective, visible and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff feel highly valued, are well supported with workload and benefit from highly effective professional learning.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is coherent, high quality and extensive.
• Pupils behave well, low-level disruption is not tolerated and suspensions and permanent exclusions have reduced significantly.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve well overall and are prepared for their next steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve above national averages in English and maths GCSE at grade 5 or above.
• Attendance is in line with national averages, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and persistent absence is reducing.
• Pupils with SEND generally receive appropriate support and make positive progress from their starting points.
• Support for looked-after children and those known to social care is effective and well overseen.
• The sixth form curriculum is well sequenced and taught well, with students supported for life beyond school.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture in which pupils feel safe.
• Pupils benefit from an extensive range of enrichment, careers and leadership opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement overall is at the expected standard rather than a strength, with some pupils' foundational knowledge not as secure and detailed as it could be.
• Support for spelling, spoken language and handwriting is not fully embedded, so some pupils lack secure foundational literacy knowledge.
• Assessment practice is inconsistent in a few subjects, meaning misconceptions and gaps in pupils' knowledge can persist.
• Monitoring of pupils with SEND could be further strengthened so barriers to learning or wellbeing are consistently removed swiftly.
• Attendance, particularly for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, needs to continue improving and persistent absence must reduce further.
• Last year, sixth-form students' progress from their starting points was less positive than national peers.
• A-level value added was below average in 2024/25.
• Teachers do not always consistently design highly effective learning and check that pupils understand it, so needs or gaps are not always addressed swiftly.

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 Huish Episcopi Academy attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.2% 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 Huish Episcopi 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 Huish Episcopi Academy had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Huish Episcopi Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.3% 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 Huish Episcopi Academy received £7,873 and spent £8,073 for each of its 1,250 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,117,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 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 Langport · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Huish Episcopi Academy is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• Robert Blake Academy Bridgwater
• Gillingham School Gillingham
• The Cornerstone Academy Poole
• Winton Academy Bournemouth
• Glenmoor Academy Bournemouth
• Avonwood Primary School Bournemouth
• Avonbourne Girls Academy Bournemouth
• Avonbourne Boys' Academy Bournemouth
• Nova Hreod Academy Swindon
• Swindon Academy Swindon

What is Huish Episcopi Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Huish Episcopi Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Huish Episcopi Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Huish Episcopi Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Huish Episcopi Academy have?

Huish Episcopi Academy has 1,192 pupils on roll.

What age range does Huish Episcopi Academy cover?

Huish Episcopi Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Huish Episcopi Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.5, and 58% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Huish Episcopi Academy?

Huish Episcopi Academy is at Wincanton Road, Huish Episcopi Academy, Langport, Somerset, TA10 9SS.