The City Academy Bristol
Russell Town Avenue, Bristol, BS5 9JH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CABOT LEARNING FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Mr Ben Tucker
- Sponsor
- Cabot Learning Federation
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bristol East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 975
- Pupils on roll
- 977
- URN
- 144509
- Local authority
- Bristol, City of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01179413800
About this school
The City Academy Bristol is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 977 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 November 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 | 213 | 190 | 174 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.9 | 37.5 | 38.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.15 to +0.28 | +0.07 -0.14 to +0.29 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 25.8% | 29.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 50% | 51.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 25.3% | 25.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
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 City Academy Bristol 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 | 35.9 | 36.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.5 | 34.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.5 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,033 |
| 2023/24 | 992 |
| 2024/25 | 970 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The City Academy Bristol compares
The City Academy Bristol ranked 19th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.5 | 12.4% | 50.9% | 977 | — |
| Fairfield High School | 48.9 | 12.3% | 30.9% | 1,057 | 1.2 miles |
| E-Act Montpelier High School | 57.3 | 8.3% | 32.1% | 859 | 1.4 miles |
| St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School | 54.2 | 7.2% | 23.8% | 1,792 | 1.5 miles |
| Oasis Academy Temple Quarter | — | 8.1% | 45.7% | 391 | 1.5 miles |
| Bristol Brunel Academy | 43.6 | 11.6% | 36.3% | 1,267 | 1.5 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)
- 50.93%
- English as an additional language
- 44.3%
- Overall absence
- 12.4%
- Persistent absence
- 40.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fairfield High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
E-Act Montpelier High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School1.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Oasis Academy Temple Quarter1.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Bristol Brunel Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
The City Academy Bristol ranks 38th 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 year groups does The City Academy Bristol teach?
- The City Academy Bristol teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of The City Academy Bristol?
- The headteacher of The City Academy Bristol is Mr Ben Tucker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The City Academy Bristol last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The City Academy Bristol, 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 The City Academy Bristol?
- The City Academy Bristol has 977 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The City Academy Bristol full?
- The City Academy Bristol has capacity for 975 pupils and 977 on roll (100%), 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 City Academy Bristol a faith school?
- No. The City Academy Bristol has no designated religious character.
- Who runs The City Academy Bristol?
- The City Academy Bristol 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.
- What SEN provision does The City Academy Bristol have?
- The schools register lists The City Academy Bristol's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The City Academy Bristol's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.9 in 2022/23 and 38.5 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 City Academy Bristol rank locally?
- The City Academy Bristol ranked 19th of 22 secondary schools in Bristol, City of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% 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 City Academy Bristol's absence rate?
- The City Academy Bristol's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The City Academy Bristol's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The City Academy Bristol'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.