The Castle School

Term dates

This school's own term dates broadly match South Gloucestershire council's, so the council's dates are shown here. INSET days can differ, so check the school's calendar for those.

• Term
• Holiday
• INSET day
• Exeat

Admissions

Places for Year 7 are applied for through your home council, not the school.

Apply for a secondary school place on GOV.UK

How places are given: there's no entrance test. When there are more applicants than places, places usually go by criteria such as siblings, distance or catchment area. Check the council's or school's admissions policy for the exact rules.

For the sixth form, apply to the school directly.

How many families applied: Year 7

For September 2026, 235 families put this school as their first choice, and 256 places were offered. 235 of the families who put it first got a place (100%).

Offers made on national offer day, from the Department for Education. Waiting lists and appeals can change things later. The hardest schools to get into.

Ofsted inspection

Report card, 31 March 2026. Ofsted now grades each area separately, from exceptional to urgent improvement, with no single overall grade.

Inclusion

Expected standard

Curriculum and teaching

Expected standard

Achievement

Expected standard

Attendance and behaviour

Expected standard

Personal development and wellbeing

Expected standard

Sixth form

Expected standard

Leadership and governance

Expected standard

Safeguarding standards: met.

Read the Ofsted reports

From Ofsted's published inspection data (Open Government Licence). Report cards and older grades use different scales, so they can't be compared directly.

About and location

Type

Academy

Phase

Secondary

Ages

11–18

Pupils

1416 (capacity 1733)

Gender

Mixed

Academy trust

PATHWAY TRUST

Phone

01454862100

Address

Park Road, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 1HT

Website

thecastleschool.org.uk

Official school record, including Ofsted reports