Devizes’s state schools trail 78% of towns in England on results
At Key Stage 2, 54% of pupils at Devizes’s primaries met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, below both Wiltshire’s towns (60%) and towns in England (62%). 8 state-funded schools are located in Devizes’s built-up area. Devizes grades C− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #21 of 30 in Wiltshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.
School Grade
Devizes grades C− for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (54% meet the standard)Better than 17% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (44.6 and 40%)Better than 36% of towns in England
Each of Devizes’s 5 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
England’s average schoolWiltshire’s average school
The primary figure: 5 primaries in the town, 477 pupils in results over three years. Devizes has 1 secondary of its own with GCSE results, too few to judge on, so the secondary figure uses the 1 graded secondary in and within 3 km of the town (202 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 Devizes’s 8 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 Devizes’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.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 20% at Wansdyke School to 40% at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Devizes. Against schools with the same intake, Southbroom St James Academy does best: 58% with 40% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 58%. 1 of 5 primaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Devizes
Wiltshire Council handles applications for every state school in Devizes, 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. 3 of Devizes’s 7 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.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 1 school is at or over it.
Wansdyke113%
The Trinity91%
Nursteed87%
St Joseph's79%
Devizes70%
Southbroom St James45%
Southbroom Infants' incl. nursery34%
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
8 state schools in Devizes
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 Devizes’s schoolsA0B0C5D12 without a letter
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.
Report card 2Ungraded inspection only 6
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 Devizes’s 8 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.
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 by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
White Horse FederationDevizes, Southbroom Infants'
2
1,018
C+
Diocese of Salisbury Academy TrustThe Trinity, Southbroom St James
2
300
C−C+
Acorn Education TrustWansdyke
1
237
C+
Saint Joseph's Catholic Primary School, DevizesSt Joseph's
1
165
D
Wiltshire CouncilNursteed, Downland
2
284
C−
After 16
Where Devizes’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 Devizes has its own sixth form. The nearest college is Wiltshire College and University Centre, a further-education college 9.3 miles away.
Secondaries with a sixth form
1 of 1
state schools in Devizes
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: Wiltshire College and University Centre
Grammar schools in Wiltshire
2
selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Devizes
Devizes has 1 special school (Downland: 102 pupils). A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Wiltshire Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Wiltshire Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
227th of 277 English towns of 14,000 to 26,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Devizes, and the top and bottom of the group.
Bowerhill 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 5.9 mi
D
56%
38.3
Calne 7 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.1 mi
D−
48%
37.2
Melksham 4 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.4 mi
D
51%
38.3
Littleton Panell 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 Devizes: 5% (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 Devizes
Are schools in Devizes good?
Devizes’s state schools earn a C− against schools across England: primary results beat 17% of towns in England; secondary results beat 36% 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 Devizes?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Wansdyke School: 60% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Devizes secondary schools have sixth forms?
Yes, it has one.
How do I apply for a school place in Devizes?
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 Devizes are full?
1 of 7 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 Devizes?
8 open state-funded schools are located in Devizes’s built-up area: 6 primary, 1 secondary and 1 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.
