School Chooser

Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademy577 pupilsCheltenhamGloucestershire
School Chooser Score
24
Below
similar schools
Likely range 15 to 39
Out of 100. Better than 36% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, May 2024
Reached the expected level at 1151%England 63%
Attendance93.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
Places53 spare577 pupils, 630 places
Pupils per teacher19.8School workforce census

Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy is a converter academy in Cheltenham for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 577 pupils and room for 630. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 24 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 36% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Tobyfield Road, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, GL52 8NN01242 673814bishopscleeve.gloucs.sch.ukMiss Lucy Browne headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 15 May 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

87 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1151%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level6%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 78%78%20172018: 63%63%20182019: 70%70%20192023: 61%61%20232024: 62%62%20242025: 51%51%2025
Since 2017: -27%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017GloucestershireEngland
Pupils tested879395916565
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths51%62%61%70%63%78%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths6%11%7%10%6%8%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0106.0106.0106.0104.0106.0106.3105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0104.0104.0106.0103.0105.0104.4104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0107.0106.0107.0107.0109.0105.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard74%82%75%74%75%82%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard64%72%75%81%71%91%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)72%74%75%81%77%89%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.5+1.8+0.9+1.7
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.3+1.3+0.6+1.4
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged20%38%56%56%20%71%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged63%72%63%73%71%80%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

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. 1 of the 4 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 the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
20%63%
Gap 43 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
44%59%
Gap 15 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
63%51%
Gap 12 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
8%6%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
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.

A few spare places616 pupils for 660 places, 2024/25
93% full

About 44 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 7% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (83 offers for 90 places).

EntryPlacesPut it firstApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary905112383all offeredLA
2025 Primary903712954all offeredLA
2024 Primary905614461all offeredLA
2023 Primary906015469all offeredLA
2022 Primary904515065all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll577Census January 2026
Places63092% full
Pupils from low-income families24%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%117 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%21 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.521 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils14%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)23%£204,600 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls282 / 295
White British pupils84%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.4 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (59), emotional and mental health (48), Moderate learning difficulty (25), Physical disability (3), Hearing impairment (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll577610615637661616
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals24%24%22%21%19%17%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language8%7%8%7%7%6%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support20%17%17%14%15%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%2%1%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school16.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.1%6.1%5.9%7.2%3.2%3.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.8%4.6%4.6%6.1%2.5%2.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.5%1.3%1.1%0.7%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence16.6%15.7%15.3%20.7%6.5%4.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.61.31.31.40.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers29.2full-time equivalent, 34 people
Pupils per teacher19.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants18.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,146
Teachers who left in the year17%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.92024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£5,502England £7,128. Total £3.4m
Income per pupil£6,033England £7,587. Total £3.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,061England £3,405
Money in reserve13%A healthy amount put by: £467k, £765 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£324kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,502spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m14612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate32 per 1,000 people65% lower than the England average
Typical house price£328,750Tewkesbury
Nearest bus stop80 mTesco Superstore Forecourt, 28 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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Grangefield Primary SchoolCouncil610 m421Good 202471Compare
Woodmancote SchoolCouncil850 m418Good 202374Compare
Gotherington Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles197Good 202366Compare
Swindon Village Primary SchoolFoundation2.0 miles414Good 202362Compare
Prestbury St Mary's Church of England Junior SchoolChurch of England2.6 miles238Good 202340Compare
St Mary's Church of England Infant SchoolChurch of England2.6 miles177Good 202337Compare
Oakwood Primary SchoolFoundation2.6 miles310Requires improvement 20241Compare
Dunalley Primary SchoolCouncil2.6 miles456Good 202371Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats36%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 24 is 14 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 38 · highest 86100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 24 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 24% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 15 to 39. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.08
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 87 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.04
DfE progress measure; 87 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.11
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.05
2024/25; 562 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.07
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 87 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy scores 24 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 36% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 15 to 39, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 15 May 2024.

How good are Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 51% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 6% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy have?

577 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 630 places, so it is 92% full.

Is Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 44 places were empty in 2024/25 (7% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 93.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy?

The average class had 27.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Tobyfield Road, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, GL52 8NN
Telephone
01242 673814
Website
www.bishopscleeve.gloucs.sch.uk
Headteacher
Miss Lucy Browne
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Gloucestershire Learning Alliance (11 schools)
Local authority
Gloucestershire
Ward
Cleeve West
Constituency
Tewkesbury
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 August 2011 (academy converter)
URN
137271 · LAESTAB 9162135 · UKPRN 10034658
Formerly
Bishops Cleeve Primary School

Where these figures come from