Robert Blake Academy
Robert Blake Academy is a converter academy in Bridgwater for boys and girls aged 11 to 16.
Hamp Avenue, Bridgwater, TA6 6AW01278 456243robertblake.org.ukMiss Deb Loveridge headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2026: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
Before it became this school, Robert Blake School was inspected on 10 October 2023 and judged Requires improvement (report). Same building, same children, so that report is the best guide until Ofsted comes back.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
185 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Robert Blake 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 | 185 | 191 | 163 | 162 | 146 | 136 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 42.9 | 38.6 | 37.7 | 40.2 | 40.9 | 39.2 | 44.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.53 | -0.79 | -0.69 | -0.22 | -0.44 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 38% | 33% | 25% | 35% | 34% | 28% | 41% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 60% | 53% | 50% | 57% | 50% | 49% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.79 | 3.43 | 3.24 | 3.47 | 3.37 | 3.13 | 3.87 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 37% | 37% | 44% | 43% | 16% | 15% | 33% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 36.2 | 28.4 | 29.1 | 33.3 | 35.6 | 32.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 46.6 | 42.1 | 41.5 | 43.7 | 43.8 | 43.0 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 20.3 | 23.0 | 26.3 | 19.2 | 23.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 58.4 | 54.2 | 56.5 | 57.3 | 54.9 | – | – |
† These results are for Robert Blake School, the school this one replaced in September 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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
The last child to get a place lived 3.9 miles away in 2023. 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 2023. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 3.9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Secondary | 210 | 282 | 210 | 3.9 miles | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.9% 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 | 10.1% | 10.6% | 10.1% | 9.4% | 5.3% | 6.5% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.6% | 7.8% | 7.6% | 7.3% | 4.3% | 4.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.5% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 1.0% | 1.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 30.0% | 30.4% | 30.9% | 27.5% | 13.4% | 18.7% | 23.9% |
† These attendance figures are for Robert Blake School, the school this one replaced in September 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Money
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haygrove School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 1,051 | Good 2024 | 63 | Compare |
| Bridgwater College Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,561 | Report card 2026 | 1 | Compare |
| Chilton Trinity School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 990 | No overall grade 2024 | 40 | Compare |
| Brymore Academy | Academy | 3.8 miles | 327 | Good 2024 | 65 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Robert Blake Academy a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Robert Blake Academy yet.
How good are Robert Blake Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 38% 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 42.9, 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 Robert Blake Academy have?
The number of pupils is not published.
Is Robert Blake Academy oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2023 the last place went to a child living 3.9 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 Robert Blake Academy?
Pupils were in school 89.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 30% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Robert Blake Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Hamp Avenue, Bridgwater, TA6 6AW
- Telephone
- 01278 456243
- Website
- robertblake.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Miss Deb Loveridge
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- United Learning Trust (98 schools)
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Ward
- Bridgwater South
- Constituency
- Bridgwater
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2026 (academy converter)
- URN
- 151626 · LAESTAB 9334300 · UKPRN 10097384
- Formerly
- Robert Blake 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 characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Somerset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2023.
- 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.