Bristol Brunel Academy
Speedwell Road, Speedwell, Bristol, BS15 1NU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CABOT LEARNING FEDERATION
- Principal
- Miss Jenny Cusack
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Cabot Learning Federation
- Constituency
- Bristol North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,160
- Pupils on roll
- 1,267
- URN
- 135300
- Local authority
- Bristol, City of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01173772700
About this school
Bristol Brunel Academy is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,267 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 226 | 253 | 251 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.9 | 45.1 | 43.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.07 to +0.45 | +0.24 +0.06 to +0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 37.2% | 40.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 63.2% | 61.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 49% | 31.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
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 Bristol Brunel Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bristol, City of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.9 | 36.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.1 | 34.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.6 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,331 |
| 2023/24 | 1,336 |
| 2024/25 | 1,299 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bristol Brunel Academy compares
Bristol Brunel Academy ranked 17th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.6 | 11.6% | 36.3% | 1,267 | — |
| John Cabot Academy | 52.1 | 9.5% | 29.6% | 1,244 | 0.9 miles |
| Bristol Metropolitan Academy | 46.9 | 10.4% | 31% | 1,103 | 1.0 miles |
| The City Academy Bristol | 38.5 | 12.4% | 50.9% | 977 | 1.5 miles |
| Hanham Woods Academy | 44.1 | 9.4% | 16.9% | 825 | 1.7 miles |
| Fairfield High School | 48.9 | 12.3% | 30.9% | 1,057 | 2.0 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.34%
- English as an additional language
- 27.6%
- Overall absence
- 11.55%
- Persistent absence
- 33.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
John Cabot Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Bristol Metropolitan Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
The City Academy Bristol1.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Hanham Woods Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Fairfield High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Bristol Brunel Academy ranks 33rd of the 44 ranked secondary schools in Bristol.
- Abbeywood Community School Secondary
- Ashton Park School Secondary
- Backwell School Secondary
- Bedminster Down School Secondary
- Blaise High School Secondary
- Brimsham Green School Secondary
- Bristol Cathedral Choir School Secondary
- Bristol Free School Secondary
- Bristol Metropolitan Academy Secondary
- Chew Valley School Secondary
- Chipping Sodbury School Secondary
- Cotham School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bristol Brunel Academy teach?
- Bristol Brunel Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the principal of Bristol Brunel Academy?
- The principal of Bristol Brunel Academy is Miss Jenny Cusack, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bristol Brunel Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bristol Brunel Academy, 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 Bristol Brunel Academy?
- Bristol Brunel Academy has 1,267 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Bristol Brunel Academy full?
- Bristol Brunel Academy has capacity for 1,160 pupils and 1,267 on roll (109%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Bristol Brunel Academy a faith school?
- No. Bristol Brunel Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Bristol Brunel Academy a selective school?
- No. Bristol Brunel Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bristol Brunel Academy?
- Bristol Brunel Academy is part of CABOT LEARNING FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bristol Brunel Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.9 in 2022/23 and 43.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bristol Brunel Academy rank locally?
- Bristol Brunel Academy ranked 17th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bristol Brunel Academy's absence rate?
- Bristol Brunel Academy's overall absence rate is 11.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bristol Brunel Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bristol Brunel Academy'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 1 July 2026.