Backwell School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · North Somerset
Station Road, Bristol, BS48 3BX
76
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 28/01/2020
Application demand
98%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
93.1%
15.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,595
Capacity used
Nearly full92%
1,728 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
98%
1st preference success rate
263 of 269 families who put it first got an offer
263
Places offered
484
Total applications
1.8
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 269 | 263 | ● 98% |
| 2nd preference | 180 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 3rd preference | 35 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 484 | 263 | 54% |
1st preference success by year
North Somerset lets families list 3 preferences. 22 applications came from outside the council area (3 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Will Penny
- Address
- Station Road, Backwell, Bristol, BS48 3BX
- Phone
- 01275463371
- Local authority
- North Somerset
- Ward / constituency
- Backwell · North Somerset
- Area
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136722
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 9% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 4% | — | — |
| SEN support | 15% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
1,595 pupils · 1,728 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
26 February 2025
Ungraded inspection
Standards maintained - 20
28 January 2020
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,347 pupils
Attendance
93.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
15.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.0%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.5%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.21 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 57% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 81% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.08 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.47 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 52.7 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 56% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 74.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 72% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.97 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 268 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.44 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 16.7% | 17% |
| A-level students | 135 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 263 | 27% | 63% | 81% | |
| Mathematics | 261 | 28% | 62% | 82% | |
| English Literature | 257 | 18% | 59% | 80% | |
| Combined Science | 175 | 10% | 47% | 73% | |
| Geography | 148 | 43% | 73% | 80% | |
| History | 120 | 24% | 49% | 66% | |
| Art and Design | 114 | 34% | 75% | 82% | |
| Spanish | 93 | 16% | 44% | 60% | |
| French | 90 | 27% | 66% | 73% | |
| Biology | 86 | 73% | 97% | 99% | |
| Physics | 85 | 69% | 99% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 84 | 62% | 98% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 47 | 19% | 45% | 66% | |
| Biology | 38 | 3% | 18% | 55% | |
| Psychology | 29 | 0% | 14% | 38% | |
| Physics | 27 | 11% | 30% | 56% | |
| Geography | 27 | 4% | 22% | 44% | |
| English Literature | 24 | 8% | 29% | 58% | |
| Chemistry | 22 | 0% | 14% | 32% | |
| Economics | 22 | 18% | 27% | 59% | |
| History | 19 | 5% | 16% | 42% | |
| Computer Science | 15 | 7% | 47% | 60% | |
| English Language | 15 | 0% | 20% | 53% | |
| Physical Education / Sports Studies | 13 | 8% | 15% | 54% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 10854: Backwell School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 48% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 3% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 54% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through North Somerset council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.