Braunton Academy
Barton Lane, Braunton, EX33 2BP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BRAUNTON SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fay Bowler
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North Devon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 840
- Pupils on roll
- 828
- URN
- 138041
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01271812221
About this school
Braunton Academy is a secondary academy in Braunton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 828 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Braunton Academy, 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 March 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 151 | 143 | 152 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 | 48.9 | 53.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.29 +0.07 to +0.52 | -0.22 -0.46 to +0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 53.1% | 61.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 70.6% | 79.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 28.7% | 31.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
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 Braunton Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.4 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.9 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.7 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 779 |
| 2023/24 | 810 |
| 2024/25 | 840 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Braunton Academy compares
Braunton Academy ranked 4th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.7 | 8% | 14.8% | 828 | — |
| Pilton Community College | 46.4 | 11.2% | 28.5% | 1,165 | 3.9 miles |
| The Park Community School | 46.6 | 9.7% | 24.3% | 1,408 | 5.1 miles |
| Bideford College | 45.7 | 11.3% | 29.6% | 1,455 | 6.6 miles |
| The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy | 47.9 | 8.8% | 25.1% | 1,016 | 7.3 miles |
| Great Torrington School | 39 | 12.5% | 25.1% | 863 | 10.2 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.76%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.03%
- Persistent absence
- 19.75%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pilton Community College3.9 miles
Secondary · Barnstaple
-
The Park Community School5.1 miles
Secondary · Barnstaple
-
Bideford College6.6 miles
Secondary · Bideford
-
The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Ilfracombe
-
Great Torrington School10.2 miles
Secondary · Torrington
Other schools in Braunton
- Caen Community Primary School Primary
- Georgeham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Kingsacre Primary School Primary
- Southmead School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Braunton Academy teach?
- Braunton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Braunton.
- Who is the headteacher of Braunton Academy?
- The headteacher of Braunton Academy is Mrs Fay Bowler, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Braunton Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Braunton Academy, 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 Braunton Academy?
- Braunton Academy has 828 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Braunton Academy full?
- Braunton Academy has capacity for 840 pupils and 828 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 Braunton Academy a faith school?
- No. Braunton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Braunton Academy a selective school?
- No. Braunton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Braunton Academy part of an academy trust?
- Braunton Academy is part of BRAUNTON SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Braunton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.4 in 2022/23 and 53.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Braunton Academy compare with other schools in Devon?
- Braunton Academy ranked 4th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Braunton Academy's absence rate?
- Braunton Academy's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Braunton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Braunton Academy'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.