School Chooser

Appleford School

Special · ages 7-18MixedIndependent124 pupilsSalisburyWiltshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Places46 spare124 pupils, 170 places
Pupils on roll124Census January 2024

Appleford School is an independent special school in Salisbury for boys and girls aged 7 to 18. It has 124 pupils and room for 170.

Elston Lane, Shrewton, Salisbury, SP3 4HL01980 621020applefordschool.orgMr David King headteacherAll details

Inspection

This private school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted. Its reports are at isi.net.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

32 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score11.8
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 2.72.720182019: 1.21.220192022: 10.210.220222023: 9.49.420232024: 9.09.020242025: 11.811.82025
Since 2018: +9.1
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018WiltshireEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11323330252425
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 811.89.09.410.21.22.747.046.8
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%45%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%66%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.550.440.520.810.050.044.114.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%31%41%

Subjects

Results came out for 3 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

Strongest subjects

Art and Design86%grades 9 to 5, England 58%
What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Art and Design21 entries
86%England 58%
40%England 52%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Art and Design2143%86%100%58%
Food Preparation & Nutrition100%40%80%52%
Combined Science922%89%100%36%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreBoys vs girls
13.69.4
Gap 4.2England 3.0
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Wiltshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll124Census January 2024
Places17073% full
Pupils from low-income familiesGet free school meals
Pupils getting extra support14%17 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan86%107 pupils with a plan
Boys and girls72 / 52
How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll124135155156150152
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals0%0%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%0%0%0%14%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans86%82%81%79%86%

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate41 per 1,000 people55% lower than the England average
Typical house price£320,000Wiltshire
Nearest bus stop160 mAppleford School, 5 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Shrewton CofE Primary SchoolAcademy890 m141Good 202071Compare
St Thomas à Becket Church of England Aided Primary SchoolAcademy2.8 miles44Good 20244Compare
Larkhill Primary SchoolAcademy3.8 miles171Good 202235Compare
St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy4.7 miles360Not inspected13Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Appleford School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Appleford School yet.

How good are Appleford School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 11.8, against 46.8 for England.

How many pupils does Appleford School have?

124 pupils aged 7 to 18 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 170 places, so it is 73% full.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Elston Lane, Shrewton, Salisbury, SP3 4HL
Telephone
01980 621020
Website
www.applefordschool.org
Headteacher
Mr David King
Type of school
Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 7-18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Local authority
Wiltshire
Ward
Till Valley
Constituency
East Wiltshire
Setting
Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
Opened
26 September 1988
URN
126535 · LAESTAB 8656008 · UKPRN 10018525

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from