Downend School
Westerleigh Road, Downend, Bristol, BS16 6XA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CASTLE SCHOOL EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachael Corns
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Castle School Education Trust
- Constituency
- Filton and Bradley Stoke
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,425
- Pupils on roll
- 1,415
- URN
- 139345
- Local authority
- South Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01454862300
About this school
Downend School is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,415 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Downend School, 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 23 October 2024, 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 | 220 | 229 | 233 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.7 | 48.8 | 51.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.35 +0.16 to +0.54 | +0.10 -0.09 to +0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 49.3% | 53.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 75.5% | 75.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 24.9% | 34.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 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 Downend 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 | South Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.7 | 40 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.8 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51 | 38.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,361 |
| 2023/24 | 1,411 |
| 2024/25 | 1,429 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downend School compares
Downend School ranked 5th of 16 secondary schools in South Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51 | 8.4% | 11.4% | 1,415 | — |
| Mangotsfield School | 41.3 | 10.2% | 23.6% | 1,191 | 1.0 miles |
| Bristol Metropolitan Academy | 46.9 | 10.4% | 31% | 1,103 | 2.1 miles |
| Bristol Brunel Academy | 43.6 | 11.6% | 36.3% | 1,267 | 2.3 miles |
| Winterbourne Academy | 52 | 8.1% | 13% | 1,741 | 2.3 miles |
| Digitech Studio School | 31.2 | 16.4% | 29.7% | 608 | 2.5 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)
- 11.35%
- English as an additional language
- 8.4%
- Overall absence
- 8.38%
- Persistent absence
- 20.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mangotsfield School1.0 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Bristol Metropolitan Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Bristol Brunel Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Winterbourne Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Digitech Studio School2.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Downend School ranks 14th 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 Downend School teach?
- Downend School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of Downend School?
- The headteacher of Downend School is Mrs Rachael Corns, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Downend School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downend 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 Downend School?
- Downend School has 1,415 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Downend School full?
- Downend School has capacity for 1,425 pupils and 1,415 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 Downend School a faith school?
- No. Downend School has no designated religious character.
- Is Downend School a selective school?
- No. Downend School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Downend School part of an academy trust?
- Downend School is part of CASTLE SCHOOL EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Downend School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.7 in 2022/23 and 51 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downend School compare with other schools in South Gloucestershire?
- Downend School ranked 5th of 16 secondary schools in South Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Downend School's absence rate?
- Downend School's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downend School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downend 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.