A council (local authority) in the South West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Bristol at a glance
How Bristol's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
102 mainstream schools in Bristol, best first
Results well above the England average.
88 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1191%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
87 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 1186%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
22 mainstream schools in Bristol, best first
Results well above the England average.
300 first choices, 218 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1659.3
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
251 first choices, 204 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.8
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
337 first choices, 225 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.9
England 46.2
127 in Bristol, highest Ofsted grade first
Bristol, BS6 6BE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bristol, BS8 3BN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bristol, BS7 0DL · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 4
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
29 in Bristol, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
300 first choices, 218 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1659.3
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
251 first choices, 204 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.8
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
337 first choices, 225 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.9
England 46.2
18 in Bristol. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bristol, BS16 4EA · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bristol, BS13 8RA · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bristol, BS9 4LR · Special · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
15 in Bristol. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bristol, BS3 4AG · Independent · Secondary · Ages 14 to 16
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bristol, BS13 8RA · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bristol, BS4 2PN · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 16
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Bristol is a unitary authority in the South West with 102 mainstream primary schools and 22 mainstream secondary schools. 84.0% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Bristol council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: school.admissions@bristol.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
92.0%got their first-choice primary school in Bristol in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 90 of 151 councils. 99.1% got one of their top three.4.0% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
84.0%got their first-choice secondary school in Bristol in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 76 of 151 councils. 96.7% got one of their top three.8.2% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
1 of 5 primary appeals heard in Bristol succeeded in 2025. 43 of 153 secondary appeals heard in Bristol succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Bristol school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 111 inspected are Good or better.
127nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
87% Good or better. 59% met the standard at 11.
132schools
Ages 11 to 16
12 Good, 2 need to improve. 44% got grade 5 in English and maths.
53schools
9 Good, 1 need to improve. About 5 pupils per teacher.
18schools
Here's how Bristol's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BristolEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 69 primaries with one.
87%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
12 of the 14 with a grade.
86%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
59%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
44%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
22%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
31%
Latest graded inspection for the 104 schools that have one.
89%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Bristol in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Bristol | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 89% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 59% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 22% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.3:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,423 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 42% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 23% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 24% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 31% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 801, ONS code E06000023.
Bristol has 285 schools and nurseries.
There are 9% more pupils than in 2018.
31% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Bristol's state schools each January.
Up 9% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Bristol31%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Bristol has 285 schools, including 132 primary schools, 53 secondary schools, 127 nurseries, 15 independent schools, 18 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Bristol on Eduscope are Westbury Park School, Bishop Road Primary School, Elmlea Junior School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
89% of inspected schools in Bristol hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 10 schools rated Outstanding and 83 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Bristol, 59% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Bristol is 17.3:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Bristol is 22.2%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 62,872 pupils enrolled across schools in Bristol, with 33,817 in primary and 27,471 in secondary. 31.0% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 15 independent schools in Bristol. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Bristol on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 285 schools in Bristol by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
