The Trafalgar School at Downton
Breamore Road, Downton, Salisbury, SP5 3HN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MAGNA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Jy Taylor
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Magna Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Salisbury
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 808
- URN
- 144389
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01725550300
About this school
The Trafalgar School at Downton is a secondary academy in Salisbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 808 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Trafalgar School at Downton, 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 168 | 146 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.4 | 44.6 | 44.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.18 -0.04 to +0.39 | -0.02 -0.26 to +0.22 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 39% | 45.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 59.6% | 65.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 17.1% | 23.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
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 The Trafalgar School at Downton has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.4 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.6 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.3 | 36.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 770 |
| 2023/24 | 782 |
| 2024/25 | 794 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Trafalgar School at Downton compares
The Trafalgar School at Downton ranked 15th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.3 | 8.6% | 15.2% | 808 | — |
| The Burgate School and Sixth Form | 46.6 | 6.1% | 12.8% | 1,073 | 3.9 miles |
| Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School | 73.1 | 4.7% | 5.2% | 1,193 | 5.5 miles |
| Wyvern St Edmund's Academy | 42.2 | 9.8% | 21.9% | 1,337 | 6.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic School | 40.4 | 7.3% | 25.1% | 565 | 6.3 miles |
| South Wilts Grammar School | 77 | 4.2% | 2.4% | 1,200 | 6.4 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
- 3 July 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report4 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.24%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.56%
- Persistent absence
- 22.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Burgate School and Sixth Form3.9 miles
Secondary · Fordingbridge
-
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School5.5 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
Wyvern St Edmund's Academy6.2 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
St Joseph's Catholic School6.3 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
-
South Wilts Grammar School6.4 miles
Secondary · Salisbury
Other schools in Salisbury
The Trafalgar School at Downton ranks 3rd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Salisbury.
- Avon Valley Academy Secondary
- Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School Secondary
- Sarum Academy Secondary
- South Wilts Grammar School Secondary
- St Joseph's Catholic School Secondary
- Wyvern St Edmund's Academy Secondary
- Alderbury and West Grimstead Church of England Primary School Primary
- Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bemerton St John Church of England Primary Primary
- Broad Chalke CofE Primary School Primary
- Bulford St Leonard's C of E (VA) Primary School Primary
- Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Trafalgar School at Downton teach?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Salisbury.
- Who is the headteacher of The Trafalgar School at Downton?
- The headteacher of The Trafalgar School at Downton is Mr Jy Taylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Trafalgar School at Downton been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Trafalgar School at Downton, 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 The Trafalgar School at Downton?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton has 808 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Trafalgar School at Downton full?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton has capacity for 630 pupils and 808 on roll (128%), so it is at or above 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 The Trafalgar School at Downton a faith school?
- No. The Trafalgar School at Downton has no designated religious character.
- Is The Trafalgar School at Downton a selective school?
- No. The Trafalgar School at Downton is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Trafalgar School at Downton part of an academy trust?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton is part of MAGNA LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Trafalgar School at Downton's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.4 in 2022/23 and 44.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Trafalgar School at Downton compare with other schools in Wiltshire?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton ranked 15th of 26 secondary schools in Wiltshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Trafalgar School at Downton's absence rate?
- The Trafalgar School at Downton's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Trafalgar School at Downton's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Trafalgar School at Downton'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.