Backwell School
Offers reached between 4.13 and 9.65 miles in the last 3 years we hold. Enter your postcode to see where your home falls.
Bars: how far the last place offered reached each year. Check your postcode and each year turns green where a place reached your home. Source: North Somerset Council offer-day figures, 2024 to 2026.
Summary
The key facts, in one place- Inspection
- Good, January 2020
- Getting in
- Oversubscribed; last offer 4.13 mi (2026)
- Results
- +0.21 progress 8; 52.6 attainment 8
- Size
- 1,595 pupils; 263 places a year; classes of 22
- Run by
- Lighthouse Schools Partnership
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18 · Mixed
- Progress 8: +0.21, against -0.02 in North Somerset.
- Attainment 8: 52.6, against 47.4 in North Somerset.
- Oversubscribed: 1.0 first choices for each place (Year 7 2026).
At a glance
Against North Somerset and EnglandOverview
Getting in
- 276 families put it first for 263 places; 259 of them got in
- We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.
Quality
- Good
- Progress 8: +0.21 (England +0.01) (county -0.02)
- Attainment 8: 52.6 (England 47.4) (county 47.4)
- English and maths grade 5 or above: 60% (England 48%) (county 46%)
- Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: above average
Daily life
- Absence: 6.9% of sessions missed; 15% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 5.4% and 13%
- Suspensions: 8 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 3); 1 permanent exclusion
- Classes average 21.8 pupils; 11% of classes have more than 30
- 18.1 pupils for each teacher
- Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 97 m
- 10 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 2 serious)
- Air: nitrogen dioxide 7.4 µg/m³, PM2.5 5.8 (1 km square, background level)
Who runs it
- Lighthouse Schools Partnership, with 34 schools
- Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 May 2011
- Replaced Backwell School (URN 132005)
- We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.
Getting in
How far offers reached
How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →
Offer day, year by year
| Entry | Year | Places | Applications | Offered | Refused | Last distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 2026 | 270 | 473 | 270 | — | 4.13 |
| Year 7 | 2025 | 270 | 279 | 270 | — | 4.92 |
| Year 7 | 2024 | 270 | 495 | 270 | — | 9.65 |
Source: Council offer-day figures: North Somerset Council, 2024 to 2026. A dash is a figure the council does not publish, not nought. Distances are straight lines from the school.
Applications and offers, DfE
| Entry | Year | Places | First choices | Any choice | First choices offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | 2026 | 263 | 276 | 467 | 259 |
| Year 7 | 2025 | 263 | 269 | 484 | 263 |
| Year 7 | 2024 | 266 | 266 | 491 | 262 |
| Year 7 | 2023 | 263 | 295 | 517 | 260 |
| Year 7 | 2022 | 267 | 277 | 501 | 265 |
| Year 7 | 2021 | 270 | 281 | 523 | 268 |
| Year 7 | 2020 | 268 | 292 | 533 | 266 |
| Year 7 | 2019 | 270 | 284 | 553 | 269 |
| Year 7 | 2018 | 269 | 314 | 543 | 264 |
| Year 7 | 2017 | 266 | 316 | 577 | 265 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2014 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.
Results
Results
| Measure | This school | England | Council | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progress 8 | +0.21 | +0.01 | -0.02 | 2023/2024 |
| Attainment 8 | 52.6 | 47.4 | 47.4 | 2025/2026 |
| English and maths grade 5 or above | 60% | 48% | 46% | 2025/2026 |
| Average A level grade | C+ | — | — | 2024/2025 |
Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2024/2025, 2025/2026.
League table place
| Table | League rank |
|---|---|
| GCSE (key stage 4) | 1st (1/11) |
| A level (16 to 18) | Top 50% (4/8) |
Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.
Inspections
| Date | Kind | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 26 February 2025 | Ungraded visit | Standards maintained |
| 28 January 2020 | Graded inspection | Good |
Source: Ofsted, 2025.
Where leavers go
| Stage | Leavers in | Pupils | In a sustained place | Of which |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After GCSEs | 2023/24 | 266 | 97% | In education 92%; Apprenticeship 3.4%; Employment 2.3% |
| After GCSEs | 2022/23 | 262 | 97% | In education 92%; Apprenticeship 3.1%; Employment 2.7% |
| After GCSEs | 2021/22 | 265 | 97% | In education 92%; Apprenticeship 3.8%; Employment 1.5% |
| After sixth form | 2023/24 | 154 | 84% | Further education 5.2%; Apprenticeship 4.5%; Employment 36% |
| After sixth form | 2022/23 | 193 | 84% | Further education 2.6%; Apprenticeship 4.7%; Employment 42% |
| After sixth form | 2021/22 | 186 | 86% | Further education 5.9%; Apprenticeship 2.7%; Employment 29% |
Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.
Daily life
Absence
| Year | Sessions missed | Authorised | Unauthorised | Pupils missing 1 in 10 | Pupils missing 1 in 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 4.4% | 2.5% | 15% | 3.0% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 5.0% | 2.3% | 17% | 2.4% |
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% | 1.4% | 24% | 2.1% |
| Schools with a similar intake | 5.4% | 13% |
Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (under 10%), the median of 246 schools.
Suspensions and exclusions
| Year | Suspensions per 100 pupils | Pupils suspended | Suspensions | Permanent exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 7.6 | 3.6% | 121 | 1 |
| 2023/24 | 6.8 | 3.2% | 111 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 6.9 | 3.9% | 116 | 3 |
| Schools with a similar intake | 2.5 |
Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.
Class sizes and staff
| Measure | Figure | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Average class size | 21.8 | 2025/26 |
| Classes over 30 pupils | 11% | 2025/26 |
| Pupils for each teacher | 18.1 | November 2025 |
Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.
Stops nearby
| Kind | Nearest (metres, straight line) |
|---|---|
| bus | 97 |
Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.
Road collisions within 500 m
| Year | Collisions |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 2 serious and 0 fatal in all; 6 involved a pedestrian, 1 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.
Air quality
| Pollutant | Annual mean (µg/m³) | Year |
|---|---|---|
| NO2 | 7.4 | 2024 |
| PM10 | 9.3 | 2024 |
| PM25 | 5.8 | 2024 |
Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.
Pupils
Who goes there
| Measure | Share of pupils | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible for free school meals | 7.8% | 2025/26 |
| First language other than English | 4.3% | 2025/26 |
| SEN support | 7.5% | 2025/26 |
| Education, health and care plan | 3.0% | 2025/26 |
| Girls | 49% | 2025/26 |
Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.
Who runs it
Who runs it
- Lighthouse Schools Partnership, with 34 schools
- Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 May 2011
- Replaced Backwell School (URN 132005)
- We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.
Area
Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →Sources
- Council offer-day figures: North Somerset Council
- DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
- DfE school performance tables
- DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
- DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
- DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
- DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
- DfE, destination measures
- DfE, school workforce; school census
- DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
- DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
- DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
- Ofsted
- School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
- How we check these figures: How we know
More in schools in Bristol and the North Somerset league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.