Churchdown School
Winston Road, Churchdown, Gloucester, GL3 2RB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHURCHDOWN SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr David Potter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North Cotswolds
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,332
- Pupils on roll
- 1,430
- URN
- 137634
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01452713340
About this school
Churchdown School is a secondary academy in Gloucester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,430 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Churchdown School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong 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 | 230 | 237 | 262 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.6 | 54.3 | 51.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.67 +0.49 to +0.85 | +0.93 +0.74 to +1.11 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 55.7% | 53.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 84% | 77.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 24.9% | 17.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 |
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 Churchdown 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 | Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.6 | 43.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.3 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.5 | 44.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,449 |
| 2023/24 | 1,478 |
| 2024/25 | 1,447 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Churchdown School compares
Churchdown School ranked 14th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.5 | 5.7% | 16% | 1,430 | — |
| Chosen Hill School | 48.6 | 8.1% | 18.2% | 1,295 | 0.7 miles |
| Sir Thomas Rich's School | 77.2 | 4.7% | 5.2% | 1,240 | 1.3 miles |
| Barnwood Park School | — | 14% | 31.2% | 909 | 2.2 miles |
| Denmark Road High School | 72.9 | 5.3% | 5.7% | 1,024 | 2.6 miles |
| Henley Bank High School | 49 | 10.9% | 33.3% | 916 | 2.6 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.95%
- English as an additional language
- 6.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.7%
- Persistent absence
- 14.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chosen Hill School0.7 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
-
Sir Thomas Rich's School1.3 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
-
Barnwood Park School2.2 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
-
Denmark Road High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
-
Henley Bank High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
Other schools in Gloucester
Churchdown School ranks 5th of the 11 ranked secondary schools in Gloucester.
- Barnwood Park School Secondary
- Chosen Hill School Secondary
- Denmark Road High School Secondary
- Gloucester Academy Secondary
- Henley Bank High School Secondary
- Holmleigh Park High School Secondary
- Ribston Hall High School Secondary
- Severn Vale School Secondary
- Sir Thomas Rich's School Secondary
- St Peter's Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- The Crypt School Secondary
- Abbeymead Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Churchdown School teach?
- Churchdown School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gloucester.
- Who is the headteacher of Churchdown School?
- The headteacher of Churchdown School is Mr David Potter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Churchdown School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Churchdown 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 Churchdown School?
- Churchdown School has 1,430 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Churchdown School full?
- Churchdown School has capacity for 1,332 pupils and 1,430 on roll (107%), 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 Churchdown School a faith school?
- No. Churchdown School has no designated religious character.
- Is Churchdown School a selective school?
- No. Churchdown School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Churchdown School part of an academy trust?
- Churchdown School is part of CHURCHDOWN SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Churchdown School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.6 in 2022/23 and 51.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Churchdown School compare with other schools in Gloucestershire?
- Churchdown School ranked 14th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Churchdown School's absence rate?
- Churchdown School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Churchdown School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Churchdown 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.