Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre
Warden Hill Road, Cheltenham, GL51 3EF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHELTENHAM BOURNSIDE SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE
- Headteacher
- Mr Steven Jefferies
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Cheltenham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,958
- Pupils on roll
- 1,846
- URN
- 136725
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01242235555
About this school
Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre is a secondary academy in Cheltenham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,846 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- 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 | 286 | 293 | 303 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.4 | 49.2 | 48.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.52 +0.35 to +0.69 | +0.44 +0.27 to +0.61 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 48.5% | 47.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 67.9% | 70.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 21.8% | 18.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
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 Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.4 | 43.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.2 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.1 | 44.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,772 |
| 2023/24 | 1,828 |
| 2024/25 | 1,862 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre compares
Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre ranked 20th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.1 | 9.6% | 22% | 1,846 | — |
| The High School Leckhampton | — | 5.2% | 8.7% | 759 | 0.7 miles |
| Pate's Grammar School | 82.7 | 4.5% | 3.8% | 1,288 | 1.5 miles |
| All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham | 38.5 | 9.7% | 38% | 1,100 | 1.9 miles |
| Pittville School | 47.5 | 10.2% | 32.8% | 858 | 2.3 miles |
| Balcarras School | 58.5 | 5% | 6.4% | 1,427 | 2.4 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)
- 22.04%
- English as an additional language
- 16.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.58%
- Persistent absence
- 27.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The High School Leckhampton0.7 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Pate's Grammar School1.5 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham1.9 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Pittville School2.3 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Balcarras School2.4 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
Other schools in Cheltenham
Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre ranks 5th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Cheltenham.
- All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham Secondary
- Balcarras School Secondary
- Cleeve School Secondary
- Pate's Grammar School Secondary
- Pittville School Secondary
- The Cotswold Academy Secondary
- The High School Leckhampton Secondary
- Winchcombe School Secondary
- Andoversford Primary School Primary
- Benhall Infant School Primary
- Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy Primary
- Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre teach?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Cheltenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre?
- The headteacher of Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre is Mr Steven Jefferies, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre, 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 Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre has 1,846 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre full?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre has capacity for 1,958 pupils and 1,846 on roll (94%), 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 Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre a faith school?
- No. Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre has no designated religious character.
- Is Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre a selective school?
- No. Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre part of an academy trust?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre is part of CHELTENHAM BOURNSIDE SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.4 in 2022/23 and 48.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre compare with other schools in Gloucestershire?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre ranked 20th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre's absence rate?
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre'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.