The Cotswold Academy
Performance (KS4 GCSE)
Three-year trends
Last three years of DfE data. How to read trends
Ofsted judgements
Getting a place
Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this
The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.
Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).
School profile
- Age range
- 11–18
- Pupils on roll
- 1,500
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-Selective
Pupil background
Special educational needs
Attendance
Staffing & funding
“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means
What pupils do next
The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.
DfE, KS4 destination measures.
Location
Official sources
About The Cotswold Academy
The Cotswold Academy is a secondary school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 53.0, above the national average of 46. That is down 2.2 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 19% of secondary schools in England.
55% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, above the national average of about 45%. 78% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 84% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (276 first choices for 241 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 10.29 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 97% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 7.7%. There are about 16.0 pupils per teacher. The Cotswold Academy does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.