West Somerset College
Bircham Road, Alcombe, Minehead, TA24 6AY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 13 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BRIDGWATER & TAUNTON COLLEGE TRUST
- Headteacher
- Zoe Stucki
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Bridgwater College Trust
- Constituency
- Tiverton and Minehead
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,509
- Pupils on roll
- 745
- URN
- 136791
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01643706061
About this school
West Somerset College is a secondary academy in Minehead. It teaches children aged 13 to 19 and has 745 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected West Somerset College, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 193 | 186 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.9 | 39.7 | 41.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.49 -0.69 to -0.29 | -0.50 -0.70 to -0.29 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 34.4% | 32.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 57% | 54.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 23.1% | 25.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 West Somerset College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37.9 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.7 | 34 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.2 | 32.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 775 |
| 2023/24 | 759 |
| 2024/25 | 760 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Somerset College compares
West Somerset College ranked 24th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.2 | 13.8% | 25.2% | 745 | — |
| Minehead Middle School | — | 8.2% | 28.8% | 570 | 0.5 miles |
| Minehead First School | — | 6.3% | 20.6% | 286 | 0.8 miles |
| Aurora Foxes | — | — | — | — | 0.8 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England First School | — | 5% | 13.7% | 148 | 1.1 miles |
| Dunster First School | — | 7.8% | 18.5% | 86 | 1.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.24%
- English as an additional language
- 4.7%
- Overall absence
- 13.78%
- Persistent absence
- 37.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Minehead Middle School0.5 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Minehead
-
Minehead First School0.8 miles
Primary · Minehead
-
Aurora Foxes0.8 miles
Other types · Minehead
-
St Michael's Church of England First School1.1 miles
Primary · Minehead
-
Dunster First School1.1 miles
Primary · Minehead
Other schools in Minehead
- Cutcombe Church of England First School Primary
- Dunster First School Primary
- Exford Church of England First School Primary
- Minehead First School Primary
- St Dubricius Church of England VA School Primary
- St Michael's Church of England First School Primary
- Timberscombe Church of England First School Primary
- Minehead Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Aurora Foxes Other types
Common questions
- What ages does West Somerset College teach?
- West Somerset College teaches children aged 13 to 19. It is a secondary school in Minehead.
- Who is the headteacher of West Somerset College?
- The headteacher of West Somerset College is Zoe Stucki, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has West Somerset College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Somerset College, 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 West Somerset College?
- West Somerset College has 745 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 13 to 19.
- Is West Somerset College full?
- West Somerset College has capacity for 1,509 pupils and 745 on roll (49%), 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 West Somerset College a faith school?
- No. West Somerset College has no designated religious character.
- Is West Somerset College a selective school?
- No. West Somerset College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is West Somerset College part of an academy trust?
- West Somerset College is part of BRIDGWATER & TAUNTON COLLEGE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Somerset College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.9 in 2022/23 and 41.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Somerset College compare with other schools in Somerset?
- West Somerset College ranked 24th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Somerset College's absence rate?
- West Somerset College's overall absence rate is 13.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Somerset College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Somerset College'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.