Ansford Academy

Academy converter·Secondary school Castle Cary, Somerset·BA7 7JJ
Composite score
54.6
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#1,963
National rank
#192
In South West
#14
In Somerset
Top 62%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
43.7
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
45%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
60%
% EBacc grade 5+
6%
EBacc average points score
3.67

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
85 first choices, 87 places
First choices per place
0.98
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
114
any preference, for 87 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9620220.9420230.8220240.9120250.982026

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

Every child who put Ansford 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
516
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
2.3%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
15.9%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
5.0%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.8%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
30.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
20.0
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£2,971
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
93%
117 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
79%
Apprenticeship
8%
Employment
6%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Ansford Academy at a glance

Located in Castle Cary, Somerset, Ansford Academy is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 516 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Requires improvement' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 43.7 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 5.9 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.

45% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Ansford Academy their first choice was offered one of its 87 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 93% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.8%. There are about 20.0 pupils per teacher. If you are considering Ansford Academy, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. 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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