Southam College

About Southam College

Southam College is a large mixed secondary school in Warwickshire, serving the Stratford-on-Avon area with a capacity of 1,650 pupils. It sits within a local authority that includes several strong performers, with the top three peers by Progress 8 score being Stratford Girls' Grammar School, Lawrence Sheriff School, and Alcester Academy. Southam itself ranks 15th out of 42 same-type schools across the whole local authority, and 8th out of 10 within the Stratford-on-Avon district specifically. The school is non-denominational and has no religious character, and it operates a formal sixth form. With 1,623 pupils on roll, it is very close to capacity, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021 judged the school Outstanding across every category, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This was a repeat of its previous Outstanding rating from 2014, confirming sustained high standards under headteacher Mel Mason.

Academically, Southam College performs solidly above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.08 is above the Warwickshire average of 0.02, placing the school in the national 'Average' band. The Attainment 8 score sits at 49.6, and 68.6% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 50.4% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is high at 78.8%, and 41.3% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. At A-level, the school's value-added score of 0.13 is rated 'Above average', with an average points per entry of 37.81 (equivalent to a B- grade). The best three A-levels average out at a grade B, and 31.2% of entries achieved grades AAB or higher. The school's Progress 8 banding is 'Average', but the EBacc element of Progress 8 is notably stronger at 0.31, while maths and English are slightly negative at -0.13 and -0.11 respectively.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 518 applications for 262 places, a ratio of nearly 2:1, with 253 offers made to first-preference applicants out of 297 who listed it first. Facilities are extensive and include a swimming pool, theatre, sixth form centre, chapel, and multiple sports amenities such as tennis courts, astro turf, and a sports hall. The school offers a wide range of clubs including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Model UN, Young Enterprise, and coding. Its SEND provision covers ten categories, from dyslexia and autistic spectrum disorder to physical disability and speech and language needs. This is a school that suits families looking for a large, well-resourced, high-performing comprehensive with strong sixth form outcomes and a broad extracurricular offer, though its size and oversubscription mean it is not an easy school to get into without a first-preference application.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Southam College

Helpful Guides for Parents