A region of England
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.
South West at a glance
How South West's schools compare with England, area by area.
Councils run admissions, so this is the best way to narrow things down. Apply through the council where you live.
| Council | Schools and nurseries | First choice, primary | First choice, secondary | Secondary, another council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath and North East Somerset | 158 | 94.1% | 88.4% | 1.6% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 240 | 92.2% | 86.4% | 3.1% |
| Bristol | 285 | 92.0% | 84.0% | 8.2% |
| Cornwall | 488 | 95.9% | 97.4% | 2.5% |
| Devon | 663 | 96.5% | 93.3% | 8.6% |
| Dorset | 306 | 93.9% | 97.9% | 8.8% |
| Gloucestershire | 583 | 91.6% | 86.8% | 2.4% |
| Isles of Scilly | 2 | – | – | – |
| North Somerset | 164 | 96.8% | 95.3% | 2.7% |
| Plymouth | 169 | 93.5% | 91.7% | 4.3% |
| Somerset | 479 | 95.0% | 92.1% | 7.8% |
| South Gloucestershire | 259 | 92.8% | 89.4% | 15.6% |
| Swindon | 148 | 95.6% | 90.5% | 11.0% |
| Torbay | 74 | 94.2% | 79.7% | 2.8% |
| Wiltshire | 478 | 95.6% | 93.9% | 8.0% |
94.3%got their first-choice primary school in the South West in 2026. England: 92.4%. 98.9% got one of their top three.2.5% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
90.9%got their first-choice secondary school in the South West in 2026. England: 83.6%. 97.7% got one of their top three.6.4% 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.
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.
1,878 mainstream schools in the South West, best first
Results well above the England average.
31 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Devizes, SN10 5TL · Academy · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Results well above the England average.
32 first choices, 20 offers made
Met the standard at 1192%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
88 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1191%
England 62%
324 mainstream schools in the South West, best first
Results well above the England average.
213 first choices, 146 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1682.4
England 46.2
Salisbury, SP1 2ED · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Boys
Results well above the England average.
213 first choices, 157 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1673.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
197 first choices, 149 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1674.7
England 46.2
1,890 in the South West, highest Ofsted grade first
Emersons Green, BS16 9BP · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Taunton, TA2 7BA · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Devizes, SN10 3PA · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
344 in the South West, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
213 first choices, 146 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1682.4
England 46.2
Salisbury, SP1 2ED · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Boys
Results well above the England average.
213 first choices, 157 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1673.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
197 first choices, 149 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1674.7
England 46.2
223 in the South West. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Tewkesbury, GL20 8JJ · Special · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Salisbury, SP3 4HL · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Dt4 7qf · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
227 in the South West. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Salisbury, SP3 4HL · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Dt4 7qf · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Molton, EX36 3LN · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Pick a stage to see every South West school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
236 Outstanding, 1,329 Good, 7 need to improve.
1,890nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
92% Good or better. 60% met the standard at 11.
2,210schools
Ages 11 to 16
15 Outstanding, 181 Good, 14 need to improve. 47% got grade 5 in English and maths.
645schools
17 Outstanding, 112 Good, 12 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
223schools
Here's how South West's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
South WestEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 1,346 primaries with one.
92%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
196 of the 210 with a grade.
93%
England 93%
Close to England
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.
47%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
21%
Latest graded inspection for the 1,724 schools that have one.
92%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
South West 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 | South West | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 93% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 60% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 46.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.0:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,691 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 92% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 42% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 11% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 22% | 27% |
South West has 4,496 schools and nurseries.
There are 3% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
21% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in the South West's state schools each January.
Up 3% 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.
South West21%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
South West has 4,496 schools, including 2210 primary schools, 645 secondary schools, 1890 nurseries, 227 independent schools, 223 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in the South West on Eduscope are St Ives Primary & Nursery School, Pate's Grammar School, The Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy. 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.
93% of inspected schools in the South West hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 104 schools rated Outstanding and 1490 rated Good.
Across primary schools in the South West, 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 the South West is 18.0:1. 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 the South West is 18.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 759,069 pupils enrolled across schools in the South West, with 401,844 in primary and 354,577 in secondary. 21.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 227 independent schools in the South West. 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 the South West 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 4,496 schools in the South West 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.
