Winchcombe School
Greet Road, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, GL54 5LB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE BALCARRAS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Parin Gohil
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Tewkesbury
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 460
- Pupils on roll
- 515
- URN
- 136764
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01242602233
About this school
Winchcombe School is a secondary academy in Cheltenham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 515 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Winchcombe School, 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 97 | 97 | 98 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.5 | 47.7 | 42.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.18 -0.10 to +0.46 | -0.01 -0.30 to +0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 48.5% | 31.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 69.1% | 56.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 26% | 16.5% | 10.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
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 Winchcombe 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 | Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.5 | 43.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.7 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.8 | 44.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 476 |
| 2023/24 | 491 |
| 2024/25 | 528 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Winchcombe School compares
Winchcombe School ranked 33rd of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.8 | 9.8% | 21.8% | 515 | — |
| Cleeve School | 49.9 | 7.7% | 19.6% | 1,903 | 4.2 miles |
| Pittville School | 47.5 | 10.2% | 32.8% | 858 | 5.6 miles |
| Balcarras School | 58.5 | 5% | 6.4% | 1,427 | 6.6 miles |
| All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham | 38.5 | 9.7% | 38% | 1,100 | 7.1 miles |
| Tewkesbury Academy | 43.1 | 10.2% | 23.4% | 1,019 | 7.5 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)
- 21.78%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.8%
- Persistent absence
- 28.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cleeve School4.2 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Pittville School5.6 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Balcarras School6.6 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham7.1 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Tewkesbury Academy7.5 miles
Secondary · Tewkesbury
Other schools in Cheltenham
Winchcombe School ranks 7th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Cheltenham.
- All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham Secondary
- Balcarras School Secondary
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- Cleeve School Secondary
- Pate's Grammar School Secondary
- Pittville School Secondary
- The Cotswold Academy Secondary
- The High School Leckhampton 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 Winchcombe School teach?
- Winchcombe School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Cheltenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Winchcombe School?
- The headteacher of Winchcombe School is Mr Parin Gohil, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Winchcombe School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Winchcombe 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 many pupils are at Winchcombe School?
- Winchcombe School has 515 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Winchcombe School full?
- Winchcombe School has capacity for 460 pupils and 515 on roll (112%), so it is at or above 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 Winchcombe School a faith school?
- No. Winchcombe School has no designated religious character.
- Is Winchcombe School a selective school?
- No. Winchcombe School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Winchcombe School part of an academy trust?
- Winchcombe School is part of THE BALCARRAS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Winchcombe School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.5 in 2022/23 and 42.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Winchcombe School compare with other schools in Gloucestershire?
- Winchcombe School ranked 33rd of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Winchcombe School's absence rate?
- Winchcombe School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Winchcombe School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Winchcombe 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 6 July 2026.