The Wellington Academy
Tidworth Road, Ludgershall, SP11 9RR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ASCEND LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hannah Whitaker
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- East Wiltshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,300
- Pupils on roll
- 1,121
- URN
- 135804
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01264405060
About this school
The Wellington Academy is a secondary academy in Ludgershall. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Wellington Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 173 | 186 | 185 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.6 | 39.4 | 42.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.21 -0.43 to +0.01 | -0.13 -0.35 to +0.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 30.6% | 33.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 59.7% | 57.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 18.8% | 12.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
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 Wellington 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.6 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.4 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.1 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,120 |
| 2023/24 | 1,146 |
| 2024/25 | 1,155 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Wellington Academy compares
The Wellington Academy ranked 19th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.1 | 8.2% | 22.1% | 1,121 | — |
| Harrow Way Community School | 44.4 | 7.8% | 27.2% | 992 | 6.4 miles |
| Avon Valley Academy | 34.8 | 10.3% | 28.1% | 517 | 6.7 miles |
| John Hanson Community School | 43.5 | 7% | 18.7% | 987 | 6.7 miles |
| The Stonehenge School | 37.4 | 9.2% | 17.2% | 1,072 | 7.8 miles |
| Lift Winton | 37.9 | 10% | 36.3% | 978 | 8.1 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)
- 22.08%
- English as an additional language
- 10.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.17%
- Persistent absence
- 23.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harrow Way Community School6.4 miles
Secondary · Andover
-
Avon Valley Academy6.7 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
John Hanson Community School6.7 miles
Secondary · Andover
-
The Stonehenge School7.8 miles
Secondary · Amesbury
-
Lift Winton8.1 miles
Secondary · Andover
Common questions
- What ages does The Wellington Academy teach?
- The Wellington Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Ludgershall.
- Who is the headteacher of The Wellington Academy?
- The headteacher of The Wellington Academy is Mrs Hannah Whitaker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Wellington Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Wellington 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 many pupils are at The Wellington Academy?
- The Wellington Academy has 1,121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Wellington Academy full?
- The Wellington Academy has capacity for 1,300 pupils and 1,121 on roll (86%), so it has space against 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 The Wellington Academy a faith school?
- No. The Wellington Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Wellington Academy a selective school?
- No. The Wellington Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Wellington Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Wellington Academy is part of ASCEND LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Wellington Academy have?
- The schools register lists The Wellington Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Wellington Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.6 in 2022/23 and 42.1 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 Wellington Academy compare with other schools in Wiltshire?
- The Wellington Academy ranked 19th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% 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 Wellington Academy's absence rate?
- The Wellington Academy's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Wellington Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Wellington 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.