Sir Bernard Lovell Academy

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Bristol, South Gloucestershire·BS30 8TS
Composite score
55.6
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#1,799
National rank
#173
In South West
#9
In South Gloucestershire
Top 57%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
44.5
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
43%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
66%
% EBacc grade 5+
7%
EBacc average points score
3.74

Ofsted judgements

New framework · Last inspection: 13/01/2026 · Read full report ↗

Achievement
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Expected standard
Inclusion
Expected standard
Safeguarding standards
Met
Post-16 provision
Needs attention

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
87%
255 first choices, 236 places
First choices per place
1.08
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
412
any preference, for 236 places
Applications from another council area
4%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.08
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9920221.0920230.9220241.1620251.082026

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

We do not have a checked cut-off distance for Sir Bernard Lovell Academy yet. South Gloucestershire does publish allocation figures and we are working through them council by council — we only show a distance once we have found it in the council’s own document.

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

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,261
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.2%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
1.4%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
15.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.3%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.3%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
23.9%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
18.4
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,754
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
92%
180 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
80%
Apprenticeship
8%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Sir Bernard Lovell Academy

Sir Bernard Lovell Academy is a secondary school in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 1,261 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted (January 2026). The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 44.5 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 3.8 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

43% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 66% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Sir Bernard Lovell Academy is oversubscribed: about 9 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 255 first choices for 236 places. After Year 11, 92% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.3%. There are about 18.4 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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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