The Bay Church of England School
Winchester Park Road, Isle of Wight, Sandown, PO36 9BA
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Duncan Mills
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portsmouth (ce)
- Federation
- Cornerstone Federation
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Isle of Wight East
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,470
- Pupils on roll
- 1,232
- URN
- 136013
- Local authority
- Isle of Wight
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01983403284
About this school
The Bay Church of England School is a Church of England voluntary controlled all-through school in Sandown. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 1,232 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. 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
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 59 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 50% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 65% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 68% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 58% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 170 | 154 | 158 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.4 | 38.2 | 38.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.30 -0.51 to -0.08 | -0.48 -0.71 to -0.24 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 33.1% | 26.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 50.6% | 47.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 16% | 39.6% | 10.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
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 Bay Church of England 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 | Isle of Wight average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 51.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 50.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Isle of Wight average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37.4 | 36.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.2 | 35.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.3 | 37.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,272 |
| 2023/24 | 1,290 |
| 2024/25 | 1,249 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Bay Church of England School compares
The Bay Church of England School ranked 6th of 7 secondary schools in Isle of Wight for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% 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 | 38.3 | 8% | 26.5% | 1,232 | — |
| Forest Edge School | — | — | 0% | 8 | 0.5 miles |
| Broadlea Primary School | — | 6.7% | 32.5% | 242 | 1.0 miles |
| Gatten and Lake Primary School | — | 4.7% | 28.4% | 195 | 1.4 miles |
| Brading Church of England Controlled Primary School | — | 12.7% | 46.5% | 96 | 1.7 miles |
| Newchurch Primary School | — | 3.6% | 8% | 209 | 2.1 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)
- 26.5%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 8%
- Persistent absence
- 23.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Forest Edge School0.5 miles
Special schools · Sandown
-
Broadlea Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Sandown
-
Gatten and Lake Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Shanklin
-
Brading Church of England Controlled Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Sandown
-
Newchurch Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Sandown
Other schools in Sandown
- Brading Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Broadlea Primary School Primary
- Newchurch Primary School Primary
- Forest Edge School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Bay Church of England School teach?
- The Bay Church of England School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in Sandown.
- Who is the headteacher of The Bay Church of England School?
- The headteacher of The Bay Church of England School is Mr Duncan Mills, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Bay Church of England School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Bay Church of England 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 Bay Church of England School?
- The Bay Church of England School has 1,232 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is The Bay Church of England School full?
- The Bay Church of England School has capacity for 1,470 pupils and 1,232 on roll (84%), 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 Bay Church of England School a faith school?
- Yes. The Bay Church of England School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Portsmouth (ce).
- Does The Bay Church of England School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The Bay Church of England School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs The Bay Church of England School?
- The Bay Church of England School is part of the Cornerstone Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Bay Church of England School have?
- The schools register lists The Bay Church of England School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Bay Church of England School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 57% 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 Bay Church of England School rank locally?
- The Bay Church of England School ranked 6th of 7 secondary schools in Isle of Wight for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% 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 Bay Church of England School's absence rate?
- The Bay Church of England School's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Bay Church of England School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Bay Church of England 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 1 July 2026.