The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School
Hampton Dene Road, Tupsley, Hereford, HR1 1UU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Thomas Williams
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hereford
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Hereford and South Herefordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,130
- Pupils on roll
- 1,089
- URN
- 116991
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01432347501
About this school
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School is a Church of England voluntary aided secondary school in Hereford. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,089 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 199 | 193 | 203 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 44.0 | 45.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.54 -0.74 to -0.34 | -0.17 -0.38 to +0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 45.1% | 46.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 64.8% | 68% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 24.4% | 30% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Herefordshire, County of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.8 | 39.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.9 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,044 |
| 2023/24 | 1,078 |
| 2024/25 | 1,091 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School compares
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School ranked 9th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.9 | 8.6% | 14.7% | 1,089 | — |
| Aylestone School | 36.3 | 8.6% | 28.7% | 443 | 0.6 miles |
| St Mary's RC High School | 52.2 | 5.1% | 11.2% | 745 | 1.1 miles |
| The Hereford Church of England Academy | 39.6 | 9% | 39.8% | 647 | 2.3 miles |
| Whitecross Hereford | 46.5 | 7.4% | 15.7% | 942 | 2.7 miles |
| Kingstone High School | 42.3 | 11.1% | 26.7% | 568 | 7.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report10 February 2026
- 7 July 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.67%
- English as an additional language
- 14.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.63%
- Persistent absence
- 24.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aylestone School0.6 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
St Mary's RC High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
The Hereford Church of England Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
Whitecross Hereford2.7 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
Kingstone High School7.3 miles
Secondary · Hereford
Other schools in Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School ranks 6th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Hereford.
- Aylestone School Secondary
- Fairfield High School Secondary
- Kingstone High School Secondary
- St Mary's RC High School Secondary
- The Hereford Church of England Academy Secondary
- Weobley High School Secondary
- Whitecross Hereford Secondary
- Almeley Primary School Primary
- Broadlands Primary School Primary
- Burghill Community Academy Primary
- Burley Gate CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Pyon CofE Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School teach?
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hereford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School?
- The headteacher of The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School is Mr Thomas Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School?
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School has 1,089 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School full?
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School has capacity for 1,130 pupils and 1,089 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School a faith school?
- Yes. The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Hereford.
- Is The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School a selective school?
- No. The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School have?
- The schools register lists The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 45.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School rank locally?
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School ranked 9th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's absence rate?
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.