Cotham School
Cotham Lawn Road, Cotham, Bristol, BS6 6DT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- COTHAM SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Joanne Butler
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Bristol Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,642
- Pupils on roll
- 1,654
- URN
- 137440
- Local authority
- Bristol, City of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01179198000
About this school
Cotham School is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,654 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cotham 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 October 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 | 236 | 219 | 231 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.4 | 46.2 | 51.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.10 -0.09 to +0.30 | +0.10 -0.10 to +0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 45.7% | 54.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 64.8% | 71.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 46% | 41.1% | 47.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
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 Cotham 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 | Bristol, City of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.4 | 36.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.2 | 34.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.8 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,650 |
| 2023/24 | 1,638 |
| 2024/25 | 1,655 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cotham School compares
Cotham School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.8 | 9% | 39.1% | 1,654 | — |
| E-Act Montpelier High School | 57.3 | 8.3% | 32.1% | 859 | 0.5 miles |
| Redland Green School | 59 | 6.6% | 8.6% | 1,652 | 0.6 miles |
| Bristol Cathedral Choir School | 54.6 | 8.4% | 25.9% | 1,192 | 0.9 miles |
| St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School | 54.2 | 7.2% | 23.8% | 1,792 | 1.3 miles |
| Fairfield High School | 48.9 | 12.3% | 30.9% | 1,057 | 1.5 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)
- 39.05%
- English as an additional language
- 49.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.97%
- Persistent absence
- 28.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
E-Act Montpelier High School0.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Redland Green School0.6 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Bristol Cathedral Choir School0.9 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School1.3 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Fairfield High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Cotham School ranks 13th of the 44 ranked secondary schools in Bristol.
- Abbeywood Community School Secondary
- Ashton Park School Secondary
- Backwell School Secondary
- Bedminster Down School Secondary
- Blaise High School Secondary
- Brimsham Green School Secondary
- Bristol Brunel Academy Secondary
- Bristol Cathedral Choir School Secondary
- Bristol Free School Secondary
- Bristol Metropolitan Academy Secondary
- Chew Valley School Secondary
- Chipping Sodbury School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Cotham School teach?
- Cotham School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of Cotham School?
- The headteacher of Cotham School is Headteacher Joanne Butler, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cotham School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cotham 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 Cotham School?
- Cotham School has 1,654 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cotham School full?
- Cotham School has capacity for 1,642 pupils and 1,654 on roll (101%), 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 Cotham School a faith school?
- No. Cotham School has no designated religious character.
- Is Cotham School a selective school?
- No. Cotham School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Cotham School part of an academy trust?
- Cotham School is part of COTHAM SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cotham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.4 in 2022/23 and 51.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cotham School compare with other schools in Bristol, City of?
- Cotham School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cotham School's absence rate?
- Cotham School's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cotham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cotham 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.