Frome Vale Academy
Frenchay Road, Downend, Bristol, BS16 2QS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CABOT LEARNING FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Dr Janet Saunders
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Cabot Learning Federation
- Constituency
- Bristol North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 138791
- Local authority
- Bristol, City of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01173532902
About this school
Frome Vale Academy is a primary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 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
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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 22 | 29 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 83% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 93% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 90% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 86% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 109.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Frome Vale 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 | Bristol, City of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 51.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 83% | 52.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 55.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 193 |
| 2023/24 | 202 |
| 2024/25 | 202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Frome Vale Academy compares
Frome Vale Academy ranked 54th of 92 primary schools in Bristol, City of for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 4.9% | 32.2% | 203 | — |
| Frenchay Church of England Primary School | 78% | 6% | 15% | 226 | 0.3 miles |
| Christ Church, Church of England Junior School, Downend | 75% | 4.2% | 9% | 301 | 0.5 miles |
| Christ Church, Church of England Infant School, Downend | — | 3.8% | 6.7% | 225 | 0.6 miles |
| Avanti Gardens School | 54% | 6.7% | 14.1% | 381 | 0.8 miles |
| Bromley Heath Infant School | — | 3.3% | 1.1% | 181 | 0.8 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
-
Graded inspection report24 March 2026
- 11 January 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 32.18%
- English as an additional language
- 21.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.92%
- Persistent absence
- 12.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Frenchay Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Christ Church, Church of England Junior School, Downend0.5 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Christ Church, Church of England Infant School, Downend0.6 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Avanti Gardens School0.8 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Bromley Heath Infant School0.8 miles
Primary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Frome Vale Academy ranks 128th of the 198 ranked primary schools in Bristol.
- Abbotswood Primary School Primary
- Air Balloon Hill Primary School Primary
- Ashley Down Primary School Primary
- Ashton Gate Primary School Primary
- Ashton Vale Primary School Primary
- Avanti Gardens School Primary
- Avonmouth Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Backwell Church of England Junior School Primary
- Badocks Wood E-ACT Academy Primary
- Bailey's Court Primary School Primary
- Barley Close Community Primary School Primary
- Barrs Court Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Frome Vale Academy teach?
- Frome Vale Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of Frome Vale Academy?
- The headteacher of Frome Vale Academy is Dr Janet Saunders, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Frome Vale Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Frome Vale 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 big is Frome Vale Academy?
- Frome Vale Academy has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Frome Vale Academy full?
- Frome Vale Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), 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 Frome Vale Academy a faith school?
- No. Frome Vale Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Frome Vale Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Frome Vale Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Frome Vale Academy?
- Frome Vale Academy is part of CABOT LEARNING FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Frome Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 57% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Frome Vale Academy rank locally?
- Frome Vale Academy ranked 54th of 92 primary schools in Bristol, City of for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Frome Vale Academy's absence rate?
- Frome Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Frome Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Frome Vale 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 15 July 2026.