The John of Gaunt School
Wingfield Road, Trowbridge, BA14 9EH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EQUA MEAD LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ben Rhodes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
- Constituency
- South West Wiltshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,618
- Pupils on roll
- 1,295
- URN
- 138020
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01225762637
About this school
The John of Gaunt School is a secondary academy in Trowbridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,295 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 24 January 2024, 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 | 204 | 222 | 234 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 41.4 | 44.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.24 -0.43 to -0.04 | -0.09 -0.28 to +0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 27.9% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 53.2% | 64.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 20.3% | 23.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
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 John of Gaunt 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.5 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.4 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.3 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,254 |
| 2023/24 | 1,260 |
| 2024/25 | 1,252 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The John of Gaunt School compares
The John of Gaunt School ranked 16th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% 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 | 44.3 | 9.3% | 23.4% | 1,295 | — |
| St Augustine's Catholic College | 51.4 | 8.3% | 15.4% | 912 | 0.1 miles |
| The Clarendon Academy | 39.8 | 9.5% | 29.8% | 1,082 | 0.4 miles |
| St Laurence School | 54.5 | 7.7% | 15.3% | 1,378 | 3.0 miles |
| Matravers School | 47 | 6% | 23.8% | 958 | 4.3 miles |
| Melksham Oak Community School | 41.4 | 11% | 23.8% | 1,058 | 5.3 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)
- 23.42%
- English as an additional language
- 12.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.27%
- Persistent absence
- 24.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Augustine's Catholic College0.1 miles
Secondary · Trowbridge
-
The Clarendon Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Trowbridge
-
St Laurence School3.0 miles
Secondary · Bradford-on-Avon
-
Matravers School4.3 miles
Secondary · Westbury
-
Melksham Oak Community School5.3 miles
Secondary · Melksham
Other schools in Trowbridge
- St Augustine's Catholic College Secondary
- The Clarendon Academy Secondary
- Bellefield Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Castle Mead School Primary
- Hilperton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Holbrook Primary School Primary
- Holt Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Keevil CofE Primary School Primary
- Newtown Community Primary School Primary
- North Bradley CofE Primary School Primary
- Paxcroft Primary School Primary
- Southwick Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The John of Gaunt School teach?
- The John of Gaunt School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Trowbridge.
- Who is the headteacher of The John of Gaunt School?
- The headteacher of The John of Gaunt School is Mr Ben Rhodes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The John of Gaunt School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The John of Gaunt 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 John of Gaunt School?
- The John of Gaunt School has 1,295 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The John of Gaunt School full?
- The John of Gaunt School has capacity for 1,618 pupils and 1,295 on roll (80%), 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 John of Gaunt School a faith school?
- No. The John of Gaunt School has no designated religious character.
- Is The John of Gaunt School a selective school?
- No. The John of Gaunt School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The John of Gaunt School?
- The John of Gaunt School is part of EQUA MEAD LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The John of Gaunt School have?
- The schools register lists The John of Gaunt School's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The John of Gaunt School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 44.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The John of Gaunt School rank locally?
- The John of Gaunt School ranked 16th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% 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 The John of Gaunt School's absence rate?
- The John of Gaunt School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The John of Gaunt School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The John of Gaunt 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.