Stanchester Academy
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Stanchester Academy is a converter academy in Stoke-sub-Hamdon for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 829 pupils and room for 880. About 22 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 27 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 26% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.
East Stoke, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, TA14 6UG01935 823200stanchester-academy.co.ukMr Gregg Mockridge principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 19 November 2024, 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.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
132 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 132 | 152 | 140 | 125 | 112 | 93 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 43.7 | 42.9 | 39.0 | 44.5 | 45.3 | 42.5 | 44.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.17 | -0.55 | -0.41 | -0.30 | -0.28 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 48% | 47% | 39% | 47% | 39% | 31% | 41% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 70% | 65% | 58% | 64% | 67% | 61% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.92 | 3.67 | 3.37 | 3.71 | 3.95 | 3.71 | 3.87 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 35% | 7% | 11% | 10% | 46% | 42% | 33% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 31.0 | 31.8 | 26.2 | 34.4 | 38.1 | 30.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 45.3 | 44.9 | 41.7 | 46.5 | 46.9 | 45.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 27.1 | 24.6 | 29.9 | 19.3 | 20.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 58.7 | 57.0 | 61.9 | 57.8 | 57.3 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 16 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.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Food Preparation & Nutrition (12% here, 52% across England), Business (23% here, 51% across England), Art and Design (34% here, 58% across England), Computer Science (35% here, 56% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 132 | 17% | 49% | 64% | 58% | 2,093 of 3,202 |
| English Language | 130 | 18% | 51% | 73% | 54% | 1,723 of 3,210 |
| Mathematics | 130 | 19% | 58% | 75% | 53% | 1,087 of 3,211 |
| Art and Design | 105 | 9% | 34% | 51% | 58% | 2,418 of 2,818 |
| Combined Science | 99 | 7% | 32% | 61% | 36% | 1,682 of 3,084 |
| History | 74 | 18% | 35% | 41% | 52% | 2,545 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 57 | 18% | 44% | 46% | 51% | 1,821 of 3,116 |
| Spanish | 46 | 24% | 57% | 74% | 54% | 930 of 1,941 |
| Business | 43 | 9% | 23% | 35% | 51% | 1,628 of 1,806 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 33 | 0% | 12% | 30% | 52% | 1,066 of 1,098 |
| Biology | 27 | 37% | 74% | 96% | 82% | 1,865 of 2,570 |
| Physics | 27 | 48% | 89% | 96% | 82% | 1,168 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 27 | 44% | 85% | 100% | 81% | 1,351 of 2,537 |
| Drama | 25 | 12% | 56% | 68% | 60% | 538 of 844 |
| Computer Science | 17 | 24% | 35% | 47% | 56% | – |
| Physical Education | 13 | 0% | 31% | 54% | 56% | – |
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
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.
About 79 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
The last child to get a place lived 3.2 miles away in 2024. 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 2024. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 3.2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Secondary | 174 | 242 | 174 | 3.2 miles | LA |
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (71), Specific learning difficulty (48), Moderate learning difficulty (28), language and communications needs (19), Autistic spectrum disorder (16), Physical disability (6).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 829 | 812 | 791 | 787 | 774 | 731 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 22% | 20% | 18% | 17% | 15% | 13% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 4% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 17% | 14% | 16% | 16% | 15% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.9% 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 | 9.1% | 10.4% | 11.7% | 11.6% | 6.9% | 6.0% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.2% | 5.7% | 7.1% | 7.7% | 5.4% | 3.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.9% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 3.9% | 1.5% | 2.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 25.1% | 29.6% | 32.5% | 32.6% | 17.6% | 12.6% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 22.3 | 35.0 | 44.7 | 73.4 | 36.4 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 140 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 83%, compared with 92% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 91% | 93% | 92% | 97% |
| Education | 79% | 78% | 82% | 86% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 8% | 9% | 9% |
| Work | 6% | 7% | 1% | 2% |
| Not in education, work or training | 3% | 6% | 7% | 3% |
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston School Academy | Academy | 3.2 miles | 1,003 | Good 2023 | 60 | Compare |
| Westfield Academy | Academy | 3.4 miles | 1,013 | Good 2023 | 28 | Compare |
| Buckler's Mead School | Academy | 4.5 miles | 812 | Good 2024 | 60 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Stanchester 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.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 27 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 27% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 19 to 36. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | -0.05 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 132 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | well below | -0.34 | Ofsted grade, 1.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | in line | -0.05 | DfE progress measure; 132 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | above | +0.10 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.01 | 2024/25; 832 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | in line | -0.03 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 132 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | +0.00 | 140 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Stanchester Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Stanchester Academy scores 27 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 26% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 19 to 36, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Stanchester Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Stanchester Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 19 November 2024.
How good are Stanchester Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 48% 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 43.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Stanchester Academy have?
829 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 880 places, so it is 94% full.
Is Stanchester Academy oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2024 the last place went to a child living 3.2 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 Stanchester Academy?
Pupils were in school 90.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Stanchester Academy?
The average class had 24.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 17% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Stanchester Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 91% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- East Stoke, Stoke-sub-Hamdon, TA14 6UG
- Telephone
- 01935 823200
- Website
- stanchester-academy.co.uk
- Principal
- Mr Gregg Mockridge
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Bridgwater & Taunton College Trust (8 schools)
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Ward
- Martock
- Constituency
- Glastonbury and Somerton
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 August 2011 (academy converter)
- URN
- 137080 · LAESTAB 9334450 · UKPRN 10034833
- Formerly
- Stanchester Community School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Admissions outcomes: Somerset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024.
- 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.