Stanchester Academy
East Stoke, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, TA14 6UG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BRIDGWATER & TAUNTON COLLEGE TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Gregg Mockridge
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Bridgwater College Trust
- Constituency
- Glastonbury and Somerton
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 880
- Pupils on roll
- 829
- URN
- 137080
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01935823200
About this school
Stanchester Academy is a secondary academy in Stoke-sub-Hamdon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 829 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Stanchester Academy, 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 140 | 152 | 132 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.0 | 42.9 | 43.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.55 -0.79 to -0.31 | -0.17 -0.40 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 46.7% | 47.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 64.5% | 69.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 6.6% | 34.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.7 | 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 Stanchester Academy 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 | 39 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.9 | 34 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.7 | 32.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 787 |
| 2023/24 | 791 |
| 2024/25 | 812 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Stanchester Academy compares
Stanchester Academy ranked 14th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.7 | 9.1% | 19.6% | 829 | — |
| Preston School Academy | 45.9 | 7.7% | 20.7% | 1,003 | 3.1 miles |
| Westfield Academy | 44.5 | 7.8% | 21.7% | 1,013 | 3.4 miles |
| Buckler's Mead School | 44.5 | 8% | 31.6% | 812 | 4.5 miles |
| Wadham School | 42.3 | 9.7% | 19.2% | 763 | 5.2 miles |
| Huish Episcopi Academy | 50.6 | 7.5% | 19.5% | 1,192 | 7.0 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)
- 19.58%
- English as an additional language
- 4.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.09%
- Persistent absence
- 25.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Preston School Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Westfield Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Buckler's Mead School4.5 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Wadham School5.2 miles
Secondary · Crewkerne
-
Huish Episcopi Academy7.0 miles
Secondary · Langport
Other schools in Stoke-sub-Hamdon
- Castle Primary School Primary
- Norton Sub Hamdon Church School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Stanchester Academy teach?
- Stanchester Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Stoke-sub-Hamdon.
- Who is the principal of Stanchester Academy?
- The principal of Stanchester Academy is Mr Gregg Mockridge, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Stanchester Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Stanchester Academy, 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 Stanchester Academy?
- Stanchester Academy has 829 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Stanchester Academy full?
- Stanchester Academy has capacity for 880 pupils and 829 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 Stanchester Academy a faith school?
- No. Stanchester Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Stanchester Academy a selective school?
- No. Stanchester Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Stanchester Academy part of an academy trust?
- Stanchester Academy 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 Stanchester Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39 in 2022/23 and 43.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Stanchester Academy compare with other schools in Somerset?
- Stanchester Academy ranked 14th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Stanchester Academy's absence rate?
- Stanchester Academy's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Stanchester Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Stanchester Academy'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.