Winchcombe School

About Winchcombe School

Winchcombe School is a state secondary for boys and girls aged 11 to 16 in Tewkesbury, and it is clearly a popular choice among local families. For the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 354 applications for just 110 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.22. Of those applications, 103 were first-preference choices, and 91 of those families received an offer. That level of demand suggests parents in Gloucestershire see real value here, even though the school does not have a sixth form or a religious character. Headteacher Parin Gohil leads a school that currently has 528 pupils on roll, which is above its official capacity of 460, so the school is operating at high occupancy. While the Department for Education does not publish a parent-view survey for this school, the oversubscription figures alone tell you that confidence in the school is strong.

Academically, Winchcombe delivers solid, middle-of-the-road results. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, the school was rated Good overall, with Good marks across all four graded categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. That is a consistent picture, and the previous inspection in 2015 also rated the school Good overall, with leadership and management rated Outstanding at that time. On the key Progress 8 measure for 2023/24, the school scored -0.01, which is almost exactly in line with the national average and slightly below the Gloucestershire local authority average of 0.19. The Attainment 8 score was 47.7, and 69.1% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The school ranks 4th out of 6 secondary schools in Tewkesbury on Progress 8, and 28th out of 44 across the whole county.

The school is well equipped for a comprehensive of its size, with facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, a sports hall, a theatre, and music rooms. There is also a sixth form centre, though the school itself does not run a sixth form, so pupils typically move on elsewhere after Year 11. The range of clubs is broad, with options like Model UN, Young Enterprise, a newspaper club, and an eco club alongside the more traditional choir and orchestra. For families with children who have special educational needs, the school lists provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 20.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a broadly representative catchment. It will suit families who want a well-subscribed local secondary with decent facilities and consistent Ofsted grades, rather than a selective or grammar option.

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