Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School
Exeter Street, Salisbury, SP1 2ED
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- BISHOP WORDSWORTH'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL
- Headmaster
- Mr Michael Thorne
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Constituency
- Salisbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,193
- URN
- 136500
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01722333851
About this school
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is a Church of England boys' secondary academy in Salisbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,193 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 155 | 155 | 157 |
| Attainment 8 score | 71.9 | 72.3 | 73.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.55 +0.31 to +0.79 | +0.55 +0.30 to +0.79 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 94% | 95.5% | 96.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99% | 99.4% | 98.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 52% | 37.4% | 57.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.9 |
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 Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 71.9 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 72.3 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 73.1 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,178 |
| 2023/24 | 1,184 |
| 2024/25 | 1,188 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School compares
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School ranked 2nd of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73.1 | 4.7% | 5.2% | 1,193 | — |
| South Wilts Grammar School | 77 | 4.2% | 2.4% | 1,200 | 1.0 miles |
| Wyvern St Edmund's Academy | 42.2 | 9.8% | 21.9% | 1,337 | 1.4 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic School | 40.4 | 7.3% | 25.1% | 565 | 1.5 miles |
| Sarum Academy | 33.7 | 14% | 40.1% | 747 | 2.3 miles |
| The Trafalgar School at Downton | 44.3 | 8.6% | 15.2% | 808 | 5.5 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)
- 5.15%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.68%
- Persistent absence
- 13.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
South Wilts Grammar School1.0 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
Wyvern St Edmund's Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
St Joseph's Catholic School1.5 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
Sarum Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
The Trafalgar School at Downton5.5 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
Other schools in Salisbury
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School ranks 2nd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Salisbury.
- Avon Valley Academy Secondary
- Sarum Academy Secondary
- South Wilts Grammar School Secondary
- St Joseph's Catholic School Secondary
- The Trafalgar School at Downton Secondary
- Wyvern St Edmund's Academy Secondary
- Alderbury and West Grimstead Church of England Primary School Primary
- Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bemerton St John Church of England Primary Primary
- Broad Chalke CofE Primary School Primary
- Bulford St Leonard's C of E (VA) Primary School Primary
- Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School teach?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Salisbury.
- Who is the headmaster of Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School?
- The headmaster of Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is Mr Michael Thorne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar 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 Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School has 1,193 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School full?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,193 on roll (99%), 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 Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School a faith school?
- Yes. Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Is Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is part of BISHOP WORDSWORTH'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 71.9 in 2022/23 and 73.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School rank locally?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School ranked 2nd of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School's absence rate?
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar 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.