Nailsea School
Mizzymead Road, Nailsea, Bristol, BS48 2HN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WESSEX LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Dionne Elliott
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Somerset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,300
- Pupils on roll
- 1,197
- URN
- 138466
- Local authority
- North Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01275852251
About this school
Nailsea School is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,197 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Nailsea 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
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
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 179 | 173 | 187 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 | 49.3 | 52.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.06 -0.15 to +0.28 | +0.26 +0.04 to +0.47 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 50.3% | 55.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 67.6% | 75.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 22% | 29.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 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 Nailsea 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 | North Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.3 | 38.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.6 | 36.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,096 |
| 2023/24 | 1,116 |
| 2024/25 | 1,154 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Nailsea School compares
Nailsea School ranked 2nd of 11 secondary schools in North Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% 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 | 52.6 | 9.4% | 13.7% | 1,197 | — |
| Backwell School | 52.7 | 6.9% | 9.5% | 1,595 | 1.2 miles |
| Gordano School | 49 | 8.2% | 9.3% | 2,029 | 3.2 miles |
| Clevedon School | 51.4 | 9.3% | 14.2% | 1,390 | 3.9 miles |
| St Katherine's School | 50 | 9.8% | 24.4% | 976 | 4.6 miles |
| Ashton Park School | 45.8 | 10.9% | 24.5% | 1,272 | 5.5 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)
- 13.72%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 9.35%
- Persistent absence
- 27.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Backwell School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Gordano School3.2 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Clevedon School3.9 miles
Secondary · Clevedon
-
St Katherine's School4.6 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Ashton Park School5.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Nailsea School ranks 8th of the 44 ranked secondary schools in Bristol.
- Abbeywood Community School Secondary
- Ashton Park School Secondary
- Backwell School Secondary
- Bedminster Down School Secondary
- Blaise High School Secondary
- Brimsham Green School Secondary
- Bristol Brunel Academy Secondary
- Bristol Cathedral Choir School Secondary
- Bristol Free School Secondary
- Bristol Metropolitan Academy Secondary
- Chew Valley School Secondary
- Chipping Sodbury School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Nailsea School teach?
- Nailsea School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of Nailsea School?
- The headteacher of Nailsea School is Mrs Dionne Elliott, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Nailsea School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Nailsea 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 Nailsea School?
- Nailsea School has 1,197 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Nailsea School full?
- Nailsea School has capacity for 1,300 pupils and 1,197 on roll (92%), 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 Nailsea School a faith school?
- No. Nailsea School has no designated religious character.
- Is Nailsea School a selective school?
- No. Nailsea School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Nailsea School part of an academy trust?
- Nailsea School is part of WESSEX 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 Nailsea School have?
- The schools register lists Nailsea School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Nailsea School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48 in 2022/23 and 52.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Nailsea School compare with other schools in North Somerset?
- Nailsea School ranked 2nd of 11 secondary schools in North Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% 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 Nailsea School's absence rate?
- Nailsea School's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Nailsea School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Nailsea 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.