Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School
North Road, Williton, Taunton, TA4 4SW
This school is open but due to close.
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- BEACON EDUCATION MAT LTD
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Joanna Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Sponsor
- West Somerset Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Tiverton and Minehead
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 324
- URN
- 140631
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01984632581
About this school
Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School is a Church of England middle academy in Taunton. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 324 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
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Urgent improvement
- Achievement
- Urgent improvement
- Attendance and behaviour
- Urgent improvement
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: requires significant improvement.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 106 | 84 | 92 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 42% | 17% | 27% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 1% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 54% | 54% |
| Expected standard in maths | 55% | 48% | 46% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 52% | 44% | 40% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
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 Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42% | 54.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 17% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 27% | 57.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 352 |
| 2023/24 | 368 |
| 2024/25 | 349 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School compares
Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School ranked 151st of 155 primary schools in Somerset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 27% | 10.3% | 36.1% | 324 | — |
| Minehead Middle School | 27% | 8.2% | 28.8% | 570 | 6.8 miles |
| St Peter's Church of England First School | — | 6.7% | 37.4% | 123 | 0.2 miles |
| Knights Templar Community Church School & Nursery | — | 6.3% | 24.2% | 173 | 0.7 miles |
| Old Cleeve Church of England First School | — | 6% | 18.6% | 127 | 1.7 miles |
| Stogumber CofE Primary School | 86% | 3.6% | 20.9% | 41 | 3.2 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report9 December 2025
- 20 June 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.1%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.31%
- Persistent absence
- 29.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Minehead Middle School6.8 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Minehead
-
St Peter's Church of England First School0.2 miles
Primary · Taunton
-
Knights Templar Community Church School & Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Watchet
-
Old Cleeve Church of England First School1.7 miles
Primary · Washford
-
Stogumber CofE Primary School3.2 miles
Primary · Taunton
Other schools in Taunton
Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School ranks 36th of the 36 ranked primary schools in Taunton.
- Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School, Taunton Primary
- Bishops Hull Primary School Primary
- Bishops Lydeard Church School Primary
- Blackbrook Primary School Primary
- Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School Primary
- Churchstanton Primary School Primary
- Cotford St Luke Primary School Primary
- Creech St Michael Church of England Primary School Primary
- Crowcombe CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hatch Beauchamp Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holway Park Community Primary School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- Status changed from open to open_proposed_to_close recorded 10 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School teach?
- Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Taunton.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School?
- The acting headteacher of Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School is Mrs Joanna Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle 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 big is Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School?
- Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School has 324 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School a faith school?
- Yes. Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
- Who runs Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School?
- Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School is part of BEACON EDUCATION MAT LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 42% in 2022/23 and 27% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School rank locally?
- Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School ranked 151st of 155 primary schools in Somerset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School's absence rate?
- Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Danesfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Community Middle 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 10 July 2026.