Brymore Academy
Cannington, Bridgwater, TA5 2NB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 17
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BRIDGWATER & TAUNTON COLLEGE TRUST
- Head
- Stefan McHale
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Sponsor
- Bridgwater College Trust
- Constituency
- Bridgwater
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 350
- Pupils on roll
- 327
- URN
- 139655
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01278652369
About this school
Brymore Academy is a boys' secondary academy in Bridgwater. It teaches children aged 11 to 17 and has 327 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Brymore Academy, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 February 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 68 | 61 | 68 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.6 | 39.7 | 44.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.67 +0.33 to +1.02 | +0.33 -0.05 to +0.70 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 24% | 29.5% | 35.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 55.7% | 51.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 1.6% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
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 Brymore 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.6 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.7 | 34 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44 | 32.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 339 |
| 2023/24 | 343 |
| 2024/25 | 346 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Brymore Academy compares
Brymore Academy ranked 12th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44 | 10% | 14.2% | 327 | — |
| Haygrove School | 48.8 | 10.3% | 22.1% | 1,051 | 3.1 miles |
| Chilton Trinity School | 42 | 9.5% | 29% | 990 | 3.2 miles |
| Robert Blake School | 42.9 | 10.1% | 34.4% | 1,014 | 3.8 miles |
| The King Alfred School an Academy | 40.5 | 11% | 31.1% | 1,269 | 6.8 miles |
| Pyrland School | — | — | — | — | 7.8 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.16%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.01%
- Persistent absence
- 25.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Haygrove School3.1 miles
Secondary · Bridgwater
-
Chilton Trinity School3.2 miles
Secondary · Bridgwater
-
Robert Blake School3.8 miles
Secondary · Bridgwater
-
The King Alfred School an Academy6.8 miles
Secondary · Highbridge
-
Pyrland School7.8 miles
Secondary · Taunton
Other schools in Bridgwater
Brymore Academy ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Bridgwater.
- Chilton Trinity School Secondary
- Haygrove School Secondary
- Robert Blake School Secondary
- Ashcott Primary School Primary
- Cannington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Catcott Primary School Primary
- Eastover Primary School Primary
- Enmore Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hamp Academy Primary
- Hamp Nursery and Infants' School Primary
- Kingsmoor Primary School Primary
- Middlezoy Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Brymore Academy teach?
- Brymore Academy teaches children aged 11 to 17. It is a secondary school in Bridgwater.
- Who is the head of Brymore Academy?
- The head of Brymore Academy is Stefan McHale, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Brymore Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Brymore 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 Brymore Academy?
- Brymore Academy has 327 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 17.
- Is Brymore Academy full?
- Brymore Academy has capacity for 350 pupils and 327 on roll (93%), 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 Brymore Academy a faith school?
- No. Brymore Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Brymore Academy a selective school?
- No. Brymore Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Brymore Academy part of an academy trust?
- Brymore Academy is part of BRIDGWATER & TAUNTON COLLEGE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Brymore Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.6 in 2022/23 and 44 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Brymore Academy compare with other schools in Somerset?
- Brymore Academy ranked 12th of 28 secondary schools in Somerset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Brymore Academy's absence rate?
- Brymore Academy's overall absence rate is 10% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Brymore Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Brymore 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.