Kingsmead Academy

Academy converter·Secondary school Taunton, Somerset·TA4 2NE
Composite score
54.8
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#1,940
National rank
#191
In South West
#13
In Somerset
Top 61%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
43.8
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
39%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
62%
% EBacc grade 5+
18%
EBacc average points score
4.11

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Requires improvement
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
141 first choices, 167 places
First choices per place
0.84
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
191
any preference, for 167 places
Applications from another council area
4%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.02
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9420220.9220230.9320240.8620250.842026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Kingsmead Academy first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
879
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
19.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
2.4%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.0%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.6%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
11.5%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
33.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.3
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£1,289
Typical secondary: £7,815

“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.

In education, training or work
89%
187 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
78%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
6%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

School overview

Kingsmead Academy is a secondary school serving Taunton, Somerset, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 879 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 43.8 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 2.8 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

39% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 62% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Kingsmead Academy their first choice was offered one of its 167 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 89% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 11.5%. There are about 16.3 pupils per teacher. Kingsmead 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.

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