Pyrland School
Pyrland School is a sponsored academy in Taunton for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Cheddon Road, Taunton, TA2 7QPMr Mark Lawrence headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 January 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Ofsted has serious worries about this school. It is in special measures.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
160 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Pyrland School, the school this one replaced.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 160 | 168 | 145 | 143 | 131 | 109 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 35.8 | 37.7 | 33.2 | 42.4 | 36.4 | 35.2 | 44.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.68 | -1.01 | -0.46 | -0.58 | -0.65 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 26% | 32% | 23% | 43% | 24% | 22% | 41% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 52% | 56% | 43% | 62% | 45% | 48% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 2.91 | 3.17 | 2.70 | 3.45 | 3.06 | 2.93 | 3.87 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 5% | 14% | 6% | 10% | 7% | 5% | 33% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 27.1 | 29.1 | 24.3 | 36.3 | 29.8 | 28.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 39.6 | 40.2 | 37.1 | 45.2 | 39.7 | 38.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 21.2 | 20.1 | 26.0 | 21.7 | 20.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 51.9 | 49.0 | 63.9 | 43.4 | 50.1 | – | – |
† These results are for Pyrland School, the school this one replaced in February 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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 3 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
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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
The last child to get a place lived 1.4 miles away in 2025. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
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 2025. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 1.4 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Secondary | 210 | 275 | 210 | 1.4 miles | LA |
What a home within 1.4 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 12.1% | 13.9% | 13.5% | 13.3% | 6.6% | 7.5% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.8% | 9.6% | 9.9% | 9.2% | 4.3% | 5.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.3% | 4.3% | 3.6% | 4.1% | 2.3% | 1.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 32.7% | 35.0% | 37.3% | 39.0% | 19.0% | 20.4% | 23.9% |
† These attendance figures are for Pyrland School, the school this one replaced in February 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
The area around the school
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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Castle School | Academy | 1.6 miles | 1,207 | Outstanding 2023 | 88 | Compare |
| Monkton Wood Academy | Academy | 1.7 miles | 1,267 | Inadequate 2023 | 2 | Compare |
| Bishop Fox's School | Academy | 2.2 miles | 1,123 | Good 2023 | 66 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Pyrland School a good school?
Pyrland School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in January 2025.
What is Pyrland School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Pyrland School not judged at its last full inspection on 28 January 2025.
How good are Pyrland School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 26% 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 35.8, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Pyrland School have?
The number of pupils is not published.
Is Pyrland School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2025 the last place went to a child living 1.4 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Pyrland School?
Pupils were in school 87.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Cheddon Road, Taunton, TA2 7QP
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Lawrence
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Multi-academy trust
- Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership (44 schools)
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Ward
- Taunton North
- Constituency
- Taunton and Wellington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 February 2026 (fresh start)
- URN
- 152459 · LAESTAB 9334012 · UKPRN 10100437
- Formerly
- Pyrland School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Admissions outcomes: Somerset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2025.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.