Bridgwater College Academy

Bridgwater College Academy at a glance

Located in Bridgwater, Somerset, Bridgwater College Academy is an all-through school, classified by the DfE as an academy sponsor led. The school educates roughly 1,576 pupils aged 3 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Requires improvement' at its most recent inspection. 25% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, well below the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 21.0 percentage points compared with the previous year. At GCSE, the school's average Attainment 8 score was 31.9, well below the national average of 46. On our composite score, Bridgwater College Academy ranks in the lower half of primary schools nationally for its primary (KS2) results. For its secondary (KS4) results, it ranks in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 100 in reading and 99 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 4% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). At Key Stage 4, 16% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 37% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. If you are considering Bridgwater College 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 further down the page.