Axe Valley Academy

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Axminster, Devon·EX13 5EA
Composite score
49.0
Compare Axe Valley Academy with another school
#2,626
National rank
#270
In South West
#36
In Devon
Top 82%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
39.2
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
30%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
58%
% EBacc grade 5+
6%
EBacc average points score
3.32

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
157 first choices, 166 places
First choices per place
0.95
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
231
any preference, for 166 places
Last place offered lived
6.87 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 11051 m
Applications from another council area
16%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.06
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9220220.8520230.9820241.0120250.952026

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, and in 2025 the last place went under “category 8 (last place, by distance)”. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

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

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
757
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
30.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
5.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
25.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
5.7%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
12.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
35.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
18.1
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,120
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
94%
107 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
84%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Axe Valley Academy

Axe Valley Academy is a secondary school in Axminster, Devon, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 757 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 39.2, below the national average of 46. That is down 1.0 points in its Attainment 8 score on 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.

30% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 58% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Axe Valley Academy was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 157 families who put it first were offered a place. The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2025 lived 6.87 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 94% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 12.6%. There are about 18.1 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. 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.

Compare Axe Valley Academy with another school