Writhlington School
Knobsbury Lane, Writhlington, Radstock, BA3 3NQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MIDSOMER NORTON SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Duncan Powell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership
- Constituency
- Frome and East Somerset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,547
- Pupils on roll
- 894
- URN
- 137548
- Local authority
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01761433581
About this school
Writhlington School is a secondary academy in Radstock. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 894 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 178 | 165 | 131 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 46.5 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.13 -0.08 to +0.34 | +0.08 -0.14 to +0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 43.6% | 26.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 64.2% | 55% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 22.4% | 44.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
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 Writhlington 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 | Bath and North East Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.8 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.5 | 37.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 34.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 940 |
| 2023/24 | 923 |
| 2024/25 | 925 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Writhlington School compares
Writhlington School ranked 11th of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 9.3% | 28.6% | 894 | — |
| Somerset Studio School | 30.5 | 16.2% | 23.9% | 152 | 0.1 miles |
| Norton Hill Academy | 50.2 | 6.5% | 18.3% | 1,757 | 2.2 miles |
| Somervale Secondary School | 45 | 6.4% | 23.8% | 781 | 2.4 miles |
| Saint Gregory's Catholic College | 46.6 | 8.6% | 19.3% | 987 | 5.1 miles |
| Frome Community College | 42.7 | 11.9% | 24.1% | 1,298 | 6.0 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)
- 28.57%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.25%
- Persistent absence
- 26.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Somerset Studio School0.1 miles
Secondary · Radstock
-
Norton Hill Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Radstock
-
Somervale Secondary School2.4 miles
Secondary · Radstock
-
Saint Gregory's Catholic College5.1 miles
Secondary · Bath
-
Frome Community College6.0 miles
Secondary · Frome
Other schools in Radstock
- Norton Hill Academy Secondary
- Somerset Studio School Secondary
- Somervale Secondary School Secondary
- Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chewton Mendip Church of England VA Primary School Primary
- Hemington Primary School Primary
- Kilmersdon Church School Primary
- Leigh On Mendip School Primary
- Longvernal Primary School Primary
- Midsomer Norton Primary School Primary
- Oakhill Church School Primary
- St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Writhlington School teach?
- Writhlington School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Radstock.
- Who is the headteacher of Writhlington School?
- The headteacher of Writhlington School is Mr Duncan Powell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Writhlington School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Writhlington 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 Writhlington School?
- Writhlington School has 894 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Writhlington School full?
- Writhlington School has capacity for 1,547 pupils and 894 on roll (58%), 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 Writhlington School a faith school?
- No. Writhlington School has no designated religious character.
- Is Writhlington School a selective school?
- No. Writhlington School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Writhlington School?
- Writhlington School is part of MIDSOMER NORTON SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Writhlington School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Writhlington School rank locally?
- Writhlington School ranked 11th of 14 secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Writhlington School's absence rate?
- Writhlington School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Writhlington School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Writhlington 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.