Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre

About Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre

Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre is one of the largest secondary schools in Gloucestershire, with 1,862 pupils on roll, and sits within a local authority that has six schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted. Among the five secondary schools in Cheltenham itself, Bournside ranks third by Progress 8 score, placing it in the top quarter nationally. Its closest high-performing peers are Pate's Grammar School, Denmark Road High School, and Churchdown School, all of which post stronger Progress 8 scores. Bournside's own Progress 8 score of 0.44 is well above the local authority average of 0.19, meaning pupils here make significantly more academic progress than the typical student in Gloucestershire. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 748 applications for 291 places, with 232 of the 247 first-preference families offered a spot. That works out at 2.57 applicants per place, a clear sign of local demand.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, in 2022, Bournside was rated Good across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This is consistent with its previous inspection in 2012, which also awarded an overall Good. At GCSE, 67.9% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, and the school's Attainment 8 score sits at 49.2. Progress in English (0.38) is notably stronger than in maths (0.08), while the EBacc average point score is 4.19. At A-level, the school's value-added score of 0.14 is rated 'above average', with students averaging a C+ grade per entry and 33.17 points per entry. The best three A-levels average out at a C+ grade too, and 7.6% of entries achieved AAB or higher. The sixth form is a formal part of the school, with 150 pupils included in the most recent data.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, science labs, and a dedicated sixth form centre. Sports provision covers netball, rugby, hockey, martial arts, and dance, among others, while clubs include Model UN, Young Enterprise, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and coding. Bournside also publishes a broad set of SEND provisions, covering dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. With 21.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a genuinely mixed catchment. It is not a grammar school and has no religious character, so it will appeal most to families looking for a large, inclusive comprehensive with strong academic outcomes and a well-established sixth form, particularly those who value the breadth of extracurricular and SEND support on offer.

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