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DSchool Grade
Schools in Amesbury · DfE, Ofsted

Amesbury’s state schools are in the bottom tenth: lower results than 92% of towns in England

A strong pass in English and maths, grade 5 or better, went to 28% of Amesbury’s pupils, below both Wiltshire’s towns (41%) and towns in England (45%). Amesbury grades D for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #26 of 30 in Wiltshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.

State schools
5
4 primary, 1 secondary
Reading, writing & maths
55%
meet the expected standard at 11 · 2023–25
England’s schools: 62%
Attainment 8
38.2
GCSE average across 8 subjects · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47.3
Grade 5+ English & maths
28%
a strong pass in both · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47%

Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.

What stands out · In brief

What stands out about Amesbury’s schools

Below England at both ages

Amesbury’s secondary results beat 6% of English towns; its primary results beat 19%. 55% of the town’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 58% across Wiltshire. Every school’s result ↓

Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.

School Grade

Amesbury grades D for schools

Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.

Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (55% meet the standard)Better than 19% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (38.2 and 28%)Better than 6% of towns in England

The primary figure: 4 primaries in the town, 304 pupils in results over three years. Amesbury has 1 secondary of its own with GCSE results, too few to judge on, so the secondary figure uses the 2 graded secondaries in and within 3 km of the town (285 pupils in results). Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.

Map

Where Amesbury’s 5 state schools are

Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Amesbury’s built-up area.

PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter

Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.

Getting a place

How school places work in Amesbury

Wiltshire Council handles applications for every state school in Amesbury, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.

Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.

When a school is full

Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 2 of Amesbury’s 5 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.

Useful: Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) · Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK) · How admissions criteria work

How full each school is

Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 2 schools are at or over it.

The Stonehenge114%
King's Gate100%
Amesbury Archer96%
Christ The King43%
Amesbury40%

DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.

The schools

5 state schools in Amesbury

Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.

Letters of Amesbury’s schoolsA 0B 1C 3D 1

Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.

Ofsted

Ofsted report cards

Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.

Good 2Report card 2Ungraded inspection only 1

Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.

Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 2 of Amesbury’s 5 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.

SchoolSafeguardingAchievementCurriculum and teachingInclusionAttendance and behaviourPersonal development and well-beingLeadership and governanceEarly years
Christ The King Catholic School, AmesburyFebruary 2026MetNeeds attentionNeeds attentionExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standard
Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolJanuary 2026MetExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standard
Who runs them

3 academy trusts and the council

Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.

Run bySchoolsPupilsTheir letters
Magna Learning PartnershipAmesbury Archer, Amesbury2582CC
King Alfred TrustKing's Gate1211B
Dunstan Catholic Educational TrustChrist The King191D−
Wiltshire CouncilThe Stonehenge11,072C−
After 16

Where Amesbury’s teenagers go at 16

In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.

The state secondary in Amesbury teaches 11 to 16.

Secondaries with a sixth form
0 of 1
state schools in Amesbury
Colleges within 12 miles
0
further-education and sixth-form colleges
Grammar schools in Wiltshire
2
selective state secondaries
Towns its size

328th of 341 English towns of 9,000 to 17,000

Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Amesbury, and the top and bottom of the group.

#TownSchoolsKS2Attainment 8Grade 5+ E&M
1Chorleywood HertfordshireA+79%59.871%
…
324North Walsham NorfolkD46%44.136%
325Sheerness KentD57%33.216%
326Diss NorfolkD45%4336%
327Whittlesey CambridgeshireD54%38.632%
328Amesbury WiltshireD55%38.228%
329Thorne South YorkshireD49%41.136%
330Whitchurch ShropshireD48%40.239%
331Peacehaven East SussexD51%40.335%
332South Hayling HampshireD55%37.525%
…
341Sandown Isle of WightD−52%3216%
Neighbours

Amesbury and the places around it

Coloured by School Grade.

Bulford: D−Durrington: D−Larkhill: D−Old Sarum: A−Shipton Bellinger: D−Netheravon: C+Shrewton: ABulfordDurringtonLarkhillOld SarumShipton BellingerNetheravonShrewtonAmesbury
TownSchoolsKS2Att. 8
Amesbury
5 schools
D55%38.2
Bulford
2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 1.9 mi
D−38%38.2
Durrington
3 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 2.1 mi
D−43%38.2
Larkhill
2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 2.8 mi
D−46%38.2
Old Sarum
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.5 mi
A−65%53.9
Shipton Bellinger
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5 mi
D−47%—
Netheravon
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5 mi
C+60%—
Shrewton
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.9 mi
A68%—

Shrewton has the best-graded schools nearby (A). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
  • Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Amesbury: 4% (England’s average school: 8%).
  • Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
  • Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
  • Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
  • Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
  • Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
  • Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.

Questions about schools in Amesbury

Are schools in Amesbury good?

Amesbury’s state schools earn a D against schools across England: primary results beat 19% of towns in England; secondary results beat 6% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Wiltshire council.

What is the best primary school in Amesbury?

On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, King's Gate Primary School: 67% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.

Do Amesbury secondary schools have sixth forms?

No. The state secondary teaches 11–16; students move at 16 to a college, a sixth form elsewhere or an apprenticeship.

How do I apply for a school place in Amesbury?

Through Wiltshire Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).

How many schools in Amesbury are full?

2 of 5 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.

How many state schools are in Amesbury?

5 open state-funded schools are located in Amesbury’s built-up area: 4 primary, 1 secondary and 0 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.

Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.