St Bartholomew's School
Andover Road, Newbury, RG14 6JP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ST BARTHOLOMEW'S SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Dr David Fitter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,922
- Pupils on roll
- 1,905
- URN
- 137465
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01635521255
About this school
St Bartholomew's School is a secondary academy in Newbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,905 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Bartholomew's 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
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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 267 | 273 | 270 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.4 | 55.3 | 56.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.58 +0.40 to +0.75 | +0.37 +0.20 to +0.55 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 62.3% | 58.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 80.2% | 78.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 60% | 66.7% | 51.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
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 St Bartholomew's 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 | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.4 | 41 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.3 | 40.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 56.2 | 38.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,951 |
| 2023/24 | 1,988 |
| 2024/25 | 1,930 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bartholomew's School compares
St Bartholomew's School ranked 1st of 9 secondary schools in West Berkshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56.2 | 7.6% | 12.3% | 1,905 | — |
| Park House School | 55.9 | 7% | 13.3% | 981 | 0.9 miles |
| Trinity School | 42.9 | 10.3% | 22.5% | 1,349 | 1.6 miles |
| The Clere School | 41.3 | 10.9% | 25.9% | 382 | 3.0 miles |
| Kennet School | 46.5 | 9.2% | 17.1% | 1,824 | 3.6 miles |
| The Hurst School | 45.3 | 7.4% | 15.6% | 1,021 | 7.2 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
-
Graded inspection report20 January 2026
- 19 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.3%
- English as an additional language
- 13.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.58%
- Persistent absence
- 18.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Park House School0.9 miles
Secondary · Newbury
-
Trinity School1.6 miles
Secondary · Newbury
-
The Clere School3.0 miles
Secondary · Newbury
-
Kennet School3.6 miles
Secondary · Thatcham
-
The Hurst School7.2 miles
Secondary · Tadley
Other schools in Newbury
- Park House School Secondary
- The Clere School Secondary
- The Downs School Secondary
- Trinity School Secondary
- Victoria Park Nursery School Nursery
- Beedon C.E. (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Brightwalton C.E. Aided Primary School Primary
- Burghclere Primary School Primary
- Chaddleworth St Andrew's C.E. Primary School Primary
- Chieveley Primary School Primary
- Compton C.E. Primary School Primary
- Ecchinswell and Sydmonton Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Bartholomew's School teach?
- St Bartholomew's School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Newbury.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bartholomew's School?
- The headteacher of St Bartholomew's School is Dr David Fitter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Bartholomew's School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bartholomew's 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 St Bartholomew's School?
- St Bartholomew's School has 1,905 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Bartholomew's School full?
- St Bartholomew's School has capacity for 1,922 pupils and 1,905 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Bartholomew's School a faith school?
- No. St Bartholomew's School has no designated religious character.
- Is St Bartholomew's School a selective school?
- No. St Bartholomew's School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Bartholomew's School part of an academy trust?
- St Bartholomew's School is part of ST BARTHOLOMEW'S SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Bartholomew's School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.4 in 2022/23 and 56.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Bartholomew's School compare with other schools in West Berkshire?
- St Bartholomew's School ranked 1st of 9 secondary schools in West Berkshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Bartholomew's School's absence rate?
- St Bartholomew's School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bartholomew's School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bartholomew's 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.