The Blue School
Kennion Road, Wells, BA5 2NR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE BLUE SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Woodlock
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Constituency
- Wells and Mendip Hills
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,640
- Pupils on roll
- 1,362
- URN
- 137285
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01749678799
About this school
The Blue School is a Church of England secondary academy in Wells. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,362 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 227 | 246 | 239 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.2 | 48.0 | 49.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.27 +0.09 to +0.46 | +0.19 +0.01 to +0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 46.3% | 50.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 67.9% | 70.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 26.4% | 32.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
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 The Blue 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.2 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48 | 34 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.7 | 32.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,464 |
| 2023/24 | 1,434 |
| 2024/25 | 1,357 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Blue School compares
The Blue School ranked 4th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% 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 | 49.7 | 10.1% | 18.8% | 1,362 | — |
| St Dunstan's School | 45.7 | 11.1% | 31% | 529 | 4.9 miles |
| Whitstone | 40.5 | 10% | 24.6% | 545 | 5.1 miles |
| Crispin School Academy | 42.7 | 8.4% | 19.5% | 978 | 6.6 miles |
| The Kings of Wessex Academy | 48.7 | 8.9% | 11.7% | 1,043 | 6.9 miles |
| Somervale Secondary School | 45 | 6.4% | 23.8% | 781 | 8.8 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)
- 18.8%
- English as an additional language
- 7.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.06%
- Persistent absence
- 28.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Dunstan's School4.9 miles
Secondary · Glastonbury
-
Whitstone5.1 miles
Secondary · Shepton Mallet
-
Crispin School Academy6.6 miles
Secondary · Street
-
The Kings of Wessex Academy6.9 miles
Secondary · Cheddar
-
Somervale Secondary School8.8 miles
Secondary · Radstock
Other schools in Wells
- Coxley Primary School Primary
- Croscombe Church of England Primary School Primary
- Horrington Primary School Primary
- Priddy Primary School Primary
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Academy Infants and Pre-School Primary
- St Cuthbert's Church of England Junior School Primary
- St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Lawrence's CofE Primary School Primary
- Stoberry Park School Primary
- Wookey Primary School Primary
- Wells Cathedral School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Blue School teach?
- The Blue School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wells.
- Who is the headteacher of The Blue School?
- The headteacher of The Blue School is Mr Mark Woodlock, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Blue School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Blue 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 The Blue School?
- The Blue School has 1,362 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Blue School full?
- The Blue School has capacity for 1,640 pupils and 1,362 on roll (83%), 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 The Blue School a faith school?
- Yes. The Blue School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
- Is The Blue School a selective school?
- No. The Blue School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Blue School?
- The Blue School is part of THE BLUE SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Blue School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.2 in 2022/23 and 49.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Blue School rank locally?
- The Blue School ranked 4th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% 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 The Blue School's absence rate?
- The Blue School's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Blue School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Blue 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.