Swindon’s state schools trail 53% of towns in England on results
65 state-funded schools are located in Swindon’s built-up area. Swindon grades B− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #13 of 30 in Wiltshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Rodbourne Cheney Primary School, 23% of pupils are on free school meals and 78% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 62%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Swindon grades B− for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (60% meet the standard)Better than 43% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (45.9 and 45%)Better than 51% of towns in England
Each of Swindon’s 46 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Swindon’s 9 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolSwindon’s average school
The primary figure: 46 primaries in the town, 7,587 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 9 secondaries in the town, 1,811 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 Swindon’s 65 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 Swindon’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, 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
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 4% at St Francis CofE Primary School to 70% at Seven Fields Primary School. Against schools with the same intake, Rodbourne Cheney Primary School does best: 78% with 23% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 62%. 18 of 44 primaries and 2 of 9 secondaries 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 Swindon
Swindon Council handles applications for every state school in Swindon, 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. 11 of Swindon’s 57 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%; 7 schools are at or over it.
Lift Hazelwood incl. nursery120%
Millbrook incl. nursery118%
Drove incl. nursery112%
William Morris incl. nursery110%
St Joseph's106%
The Commonweal103%
Ridgeway Farm100%
Tadpole Farm incl. nursery100%
The Croft100%
Abbey Park99%
Show all 55 schools
Tregoze98%
Robert Le Kyng98%
Brook Field98%
St Mary's incl. nursery97%
Shaw Ridge incl. nursery97%
Lawn Manor97%
Lethbridge96%
Gorse Hill incl. nursery96%
Abbey Meads incl. nursery96%
Lydiard Park95%
Badbury Park incl. nursery95%
Oakhurst incl. nursery95%
King William Street94%
Red Oaks incl. nursery94%
Westlea incl. nursery93%
Haydon Wick93%
Rodbourne Cheney incl. nursery92%
St Francis incl. nursery92%
Peatmoor91%
Holy Family incl. nursery91%
Bridlewood incl. nursery91%
Holy Rood91%
Even Swindon incl. nursery90%
Holy Cross88%
Moredon incl. nursery88%
Nova Hreod87%
Covingham Park86%
Great Western86%
Haydonleigh86%
Oaktree Nursery and incl. nursery84%
Ferndale incl. nursery83%
Mountford Manor incl. nursery82%
Swindon incl. nursery81%
Eldene Nursery and incl. nursery81%
Catherine Wayte81%
Oliver Tomkins79%
Lainesmead incl. nursery79%
Liden78%
Nythe incl. nursery78%
Goddard Park incl. nursery77%
Orchid Vale incl. nursery75%
Greenmeadow74%
The Dorcan71%
Seven Fields incl. nursery70%
Oliver Tomkins incl. nursery59%
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
65 state schools in Swindon
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 Swindon’s schoolsA11B18C19D611 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.
Outstanding 3Good 25Report card 8Requires improvement 2Ungraded inspection only 24No published grade 3
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. 8 of Swindon’s 65 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
Blue Kite Academy TrustEven Swindon, Lethbridge, William Morris, Tadpole Farm, Abbey Meads, Ferndale, Robert Le Kyng, Brook Field, Badbury Park, Oaktree Nursery and, Covingham Park, Catherine Wayte, Ridgeway Farm, Greenmeadow, Lawn
15
5,540
C−ADAA−B−AD−C−B+C−BC
White Horse FederationDrove, Gorse Hill, The Croft, Moredon, Haydon Wick, Rodbourne Cheney, Tregoze, Mountford Manor, Nyland
9
2,922
B−B−AA−CAAB−
Park Academies TrustLydiard Park, Abbey Park, Red Oaks, Orchid Vale, Bridlewood
5
3,524
B−B−CCB−
Grove Learning TrustHaydonleigh, Shaw Ridge, Oakhurst, Millbrook, Peatmoor
5
1,909
B+BB+CC−
Brunel Academies TrustWestlea, Uplands, Churchward, Brimble Hill Special, The Chalet
5
811
C−
United Learning TrustSwindon, Nova Hreod
2
2,864
B+B+
Excalibur Academies TrustLiden, Nythe
2
559
CD−
Lift SchoolsLift Hazelwood, Lift East Wichel
2
252
A−B−
Commonweal SchoolThe Commonweal
1
1,442
C+
St Joseph's Catholic CollegeSt Joseph's
1
1,425
B
Great Western Academy LimitedGreat Western
1
1,039
B−
Ascend Learning TrustLawn Manor
1
969
C−
Dorcan AcademyThe Dorcan
1
881
C+
Goddard Park Community Primary School Academy TrustGoddard Park
1
518
C−
St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Academy Trust), SwindonSt Mary's
1
398
A−
Holy Rood Catholic Primary SchoolHoly Rood
1
381
A
Holy Cross Catholic Primary SchoolHoly Cross
1
371
C−
Holy Family Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolHoly Family
1
312
C−
River Learning TrustSeven Fields
1
235
D−
King William Street CE Primary SchoolKing William Street
1
198
C+
Activate Learning Education TrustUTC Swindon
1
182
—
Swindon CouncilSt Francis, Crowdys Hill, Lainesmead, Eldene Nursery and, Oliver Tomkins, Oliver Tomkins, EOTAS Swindon
7
1,864
B−DDC−
After 16
Where Swindon’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
4 of Swindon’s 9 state secondaries have sixth forms: Great Western, Lydiard Park, Swindon and The Commonweal. New College Swindon, a further-education college, is in the city.
Secondaries with a sixth form
4 of 9
state schools in Swindon
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: New College Swindon
Grammar schools in Swindon
0
no selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Swindon
Swindon has 6 special schools (Brimble Hill Special, Churchward, Crowdys Hill, Nyland, The Chalet and Uplands: 937 pupils) and 1 alternative provision school, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Swindon 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 ↑
Swindon Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
29th of 38 English towns and cities of 129,000 to 248,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Swindon, and the top and bottom of the group.
Chiseldon has the best-graded schools nearby (B). 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 Swindon: 8% (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 Swindon
Are schools in Swindon good?
Swindon’s state schools earn a B− against schools across England: primary results beat 43% of towns in England; secondary results beat 51% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Swindon council.
What is the best secondary school in Swindon?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Nova Hreod Academy: Attainment 8 of 49.6 and 50% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Swindon?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Holy Rood Catholic Primary School: 80% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Swindon secondary schools have sixth forms?
4 of 9 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Swindon?
Through Swindon 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 Swindon are full?
7 of 55 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 Swindon?
65 open state-funded schools are located in Swindon’s built-up area: 49 primary, 9 secondary and 7 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.
