Sheldon School
Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham, SN14 6HJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SHELDON SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Lynch
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Chippenham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,800
- Pupils on roll
- 1,467
- URN
- 136632
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01249766020
About this school
Sheldon School is a secondary academy in Chippenham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,467 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
- 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 | 276 | 275 | 268 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 45.7 | 45.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.43 to -0.09 | -0.10 -0.27 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 46.9% | 42.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 65.8% | 64.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 27.6% | 25.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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 Sheldon 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 | 44.8 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.7 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.2 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,640 |
| 2023/24 | 1,626 |
| 2024/25 | 1,558 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sheldon School compares
Sheldon School ranked 14th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.2 | 10.5% | 19.3% | 1,467 | — |
| Hardenhuish School | 47.5 | 8.2% | 15.1% | 1,519 | 0.3 miles |
| Abbeyfield School | — | — | — | 902 | 2.1 miles |
| The Corsham School | 47.5 | 9.2% | 18.3% | 1,427 | 3.6 miles |
| Kingsbury Green Academy | 39.6 | 10.4% | 25% | 1,077 | 6.2 miles |
| Melksham Oak Community School | 41.4 | 11% | 23.8% | 1,058 | 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
- 12 March 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report14 December 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.26%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 10.54%
- Persistent absence
- 25.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hardenhuish School0.3 miles
Secondary · Chippenham
-
Abbeyfield School2.1 miles
Secondary · Chippenham
-
The Corsham School3.6 miles
Secondary · Corsham
-
Kingsbury Green Academy6.2 miles
Secondary · Calne
-
Melksham Oak Community School7.3 miles
Secondary · Melksham
Other schools in Chippenham
- Abbeyfield School Secondary
- Hardenhuish School Secondary
- Brinkworth Earl Danby's Church of England Primary Primary
- By Brook Valley CofE Primary School Primary
- Charter Primary School Primary
- Christian Malford CofE Primary School Primary
- Colerne CofE Primary School Primary
- Frogwell Primary School Primary
- Hullavington CofE Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Ivy Lane Primary School Primary
- Kings Lodge Primary School Primary
- Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sheldon School teach?
- Sheldon School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chippenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Sheldon School?
- The headteacher of Sheldon School is Mr Peter Lynch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sheldon School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sheldon 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 Sheldon School?
- Sheldon School has 1,467 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Sheldon School full?
- Sheldon School has capacity for 1,800 pupils and 1,467 on roll (82%), 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 Sheldon School a faith school?
- No. Sheldon School has no designated religious character.
- Is Sheldon School a selective school?
- No. Sheldon School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Sheldon School?
- Sheldon School is part of SHELDON SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Sheldon School have?
- The schools register lists Sheldon School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Sheldon School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 45.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sheldon School rank locally?
- Sheldon School ranked 14th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sheldon School's absence rate?
- Sheldon School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sheldon School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sheldon 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.