The Dorcan Academy
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Swindon
St Paul's Drive, Swindon, SN3 5DA
55
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 12/07/2022
Application demand
91%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
90.2%
30.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
881
Capacity used
Has space71%
1,234 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
91%
1st preference success rate
154 of 169 families who put it first got an offer
170
Places offered
296
Total applications
1.7
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 169 | 154 | ● 91% |
| 2nd preference | 86 | 13 | ● 15% |
| 3rd preference | 41 | 3 | ● 7% |
| Total | 296 | 170 | 57% |
1st preference success by year
Swindon lets families list 3 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 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
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Lee Morgans
- Address
- St Paul's Drive, Covingham, Swindon, SN3 5DA
- Phone
- 01793525231
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Ward / constituency
- Badbury Park, Eldene & Liden · Swindon South
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137684
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 30% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 10% | — | — |
| SEN support | 21% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE DORCAN ACADEMY
881 pupils · 1,234 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 22
12 July 2022
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 927 pupils
Attendance
90.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
9.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
30.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
5.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.2%
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 | 38.2 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.39 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 29% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 49% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.40 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 44.3 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 44.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 62.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 15.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.79 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 163 | — |
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.
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+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 161 | 12% | 50% | 69% | |
| English Language | 161 | 19% | 57% | 73% | |
| English Literature | 155 | 10% | 55% | 69% | |
| Combined Science | 146 | 9% | 38% | 60% | |
| Geography | 84 | 13% | 33% | 49% | |
| Art and Design | 69 | 10% | 49% | 72% | |
| History | 64 | 39% | 64% | 70% | |
| Business | 59 | 10% | 42% | 59% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 51 | 4% | 35% | 53% | |
| Social Studies | 47 | 15% | 53% | 64% | |
| Music | 24 | 0% | 17% | 25% | |
| French | 22 | 32% | 73% | 82% |
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 Swindon 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.