Bristol Brunel Academy

About Bristol Brunel Academy

Bristol Brunel Academy is a large, mixed secondary school in the Bristol, City of local authority, serving pupils from age 11 to 16. It ranks 9th out of 20 similar schools in the local authority, placing it in the top half of its peers. The top-performing schools in the area are Redland Green School, Bristol Cathedral Choir School, and Bristol Metropolitan Academy, all of which sit above it in the rankings. The school is led by headteacher Jenny Cusack and has a capacity of 1,160 pupils, though it currently enrols 1,299, making it oversubscribed. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in 2023, the school was rated Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. This marks a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2013, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The school does not have a sixth form, despite listing a Sixth Form Centre among its facilities, and it is not a boarding school.

Academically, Bristol Brunel Academy performs above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.24 is classified as Above average nationally, and compares favourably with the Bristol, City of LA average of 0. The school’s Attainment 8 score stands at 45.1, and 63.2% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, while 37.2% achieved a grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 4.08, with 49% of pupils entered for the EBacc combination of subjects. In terms of specific subjects, Progress 8 scores are positive across the board: 0.26 in English, 0.23 in maths, and 0.34 in the EBacc subjects. The school ranks 82nd out of 306 schools in the South West region and 982nd nationally out of 3,141 schools, placing it in the top third of schools across the country.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a swimming pool, theatre, tennis courts, playing fields, science labs, art studios, music rooms, and an ICT suite. Sports on offer include gymnastics, dance, martial arts, athletics, badminton, netball, football, and cross country. There is also a strong selection of clubs, such as Chess, Coding, Book Club, Eco Club, Gardening, DofE, and Model UN. For pupils with additional needs, the school provides support for ten categories of special educational need, including dyslexia, autism, speech and language difficulties, and physical disabilities. Admissions data for 2025/26 shows the school is heavily oversubscribed: it received 568 applications for 225 places, with 273 first-preference applications and 197 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.52. This is a school that suits families looking for a large, improving secondary with strong academic outcomes and a broad extracurricular offer, but competition for places is fierce.

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