A council (local authority) in the South West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Swindon at a glance
How Swindon'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.
66 mainstream schools in Swindon, best first
Results well above the England average.
93 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
24 first choices, 24 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
36 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
13 mainstream schools in Swindon, best first
Results above the England average.
300 first choices, 270 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.0
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
130 first choices, 140 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.5
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
224 first choices, 200 offers made
Met the standard at 1144%
England 62%
57 in Swindon, highest Ofsted grade first
Swindon, SN2 7JQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Swindon, SN1 5HS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Swindon, SN3 4AS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
10 in Swindon, by the school's Eduscope score
Results above the England average.
300 first choices, 270 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.0
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
224 first choices, 200 offers made
Met the standard at 1144%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
162 first choices, 180 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.8
England 46.2
9 in Swindon. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Swindon, SN25 2NB · Academy · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Swindon, SN25 2PP · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Swindon, SN2 7JQ · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
2 in Swindon. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Swindon, SN2 7JQ · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sn6 7sq · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
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.
Swindon is a unitary authority in the South West with 66 mainstream primary schools and 13 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Swindon, Stratton St Margaret and Highworth. Most state schools here are academies or free schools (90%), so many set their own term dates and admissions rules. Pupil numbers have grown 9% since 2018.
From Swindon council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
95.6%got their first-choice primary school in Swindon in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 24 of 151 councils. 99.4% got one of their top three.2.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
90.5%got their first-choice secondary school in Swindon in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 44 of 151 councils. 97.9% got one of their top three.11.0% 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.
2 of 19 primary appeals heard in Swindon succeeded in 2025. 5 of 52 secondary appeals heard in Swindon succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | Breaks up 21 Oct, back 2 Nov | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | Breaks up 12 Feb, back 22 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | Breaks up 28 May, back 7 Jun | 23 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Swindon school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
5 Outstanding, 38 Good, 2 need to improve.
57nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
98% Good or better. 60% met the standard at 11.
74schools
Ages 11 to 16
10 Good, 2 need to improve. 44% got grade 5 in English and maths.
21schools
4 Good, 1 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
9schools
Here's how Swindon's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Swindon average, 50.
Average primary score
43Swindon 50
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.
SwindonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 55 primaries with one.
98%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
10 of the 12 with a grade.
83%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
60%
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.
17%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
19%
Latest graded inspection for the 72 schools that have one.
94%
Good or Outstanding
Swindon 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 | Swindon | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 94% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 60% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 44.2 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 17% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.6:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,650 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 50% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 26% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 21% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 866, ONS code E06000030.
Swindon has 148 schools and nurseries across 4 towns and villages, the biggest being Swindon, Stratton St Margaret, Highworth and Wroughton.
There are 9% more pupils than in 2018.
19% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Swindon'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.
Swindon19%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Swindon has 148 schools, including 74 primary schools, 21 secondary schools, 57 nurseries, 2 independent schools, 9 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Swindon on Eduscope are The Croft Primary School, Tregoze Primary School, Rodbourne Cheney Primary 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.
94% of inspected schools in Swindon hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 3 schools rated Outstanding and 65 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Swindon, 60% 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 Swindon is 18.6:1. 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 Swindon is 17.2%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 37,137 pupils enrolled across schools in Swindon, with 20,983 in primary and 16,154 in secondary. 20.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 2 independent schools in Swindon. 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 Swindon 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 148 schools in Swindon 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.
