SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Bideford, Devon

Bideford College

Abbotsham Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3AR

Ofsted Good · 2022 Sixth form
School website 01237477611

Ofsted

Goodas at 7 June 2022

Graded Good at its last graded inspection, on 7 June 2022.

Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 4 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

45.7 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

50% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

69% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

4.3 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

50% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is around the middle of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the better-performing half.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.24confidence interval -0.42 to -0.05

Taking that range into account, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as below average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C+
Average points per entry
32.4

England average 32.3

A level students
63

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1455
Places
2232
How full
65% full — 1455 of 2232 places taken, so places are likely to be available
Girls / boys
733 / 722
Overall absence
11%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
29%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
30%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
2%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
5%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
16%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
86%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
71%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
8%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
24%
No sustained destination
10%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
214

After sixth form

Went to university
38%

England 50%

In education, work or training
95%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
15%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
65

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

25% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
65%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
80

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Torridge 004D, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
24%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
19%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
77%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
9%

England 17%

Households with no car
13%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
41%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Trust
ATHENA LEARNING TRUST
Headteacher
Headteacher: Claire Ankers
Local authority
Devon
Ward
Bideford West
Constituency
Torridge and Tavistock
URN
142540

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Kingsley School DevonOther independent school No grade 0.3 mi
Great Torrington SchoolAcademy converter Good 2022 39 5.6 mi
Atlantic AcademyFree schools Good 2023 42.1 5.8 mi
Braunton AcademyAcademy converter No grade 53.7 6.6 mi
Pilton Community CollegeAcademy converter Good 2023 46.4 8.2 mi
The Park Community SchoolAcademy converter No grade 46.6 8.2 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Ravensbourne SchoolAcademy converter Good 2024 45
Rosedale CollegeAcademy converter Good 2023 46.2
Berwick AcademyAcademy converter Requires improvement 2024 40.3
The Dorcan AcademyAcademy converter Good 2022 44.3
Netherthorpe SchoolAcademy converter No grade 42.1
Campsmount AcademyAcademy converter Good 2023 41.5
Madani Boys SchoolVoluntary aided school No grade 52.2
Thorns Collegiate AcademyAcademy sponsor led Requires improvement 2024 38.7

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.