Foundation special school

Southbrook School

Mixed · ages 11–16Devon, South West · Exeter EX2 6JBTrust: Sentient TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
140of 120 places
Free school meals
49.3%
Year 11 cohort 2025
29
Ofsted
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next, 26 November 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Of the 29 pupils who finished Year 11 at Southbrook School in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 76% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

14% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.

Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.

Southbrook School is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 0.2, 0% with grade 5 or above in English and maths) are published by DfE for completeness and are not comparable with mainstream schools.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Devon and England.

Southbrook School
Devon
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureSouthbrook SchoolDevonEngland
Pupils in the cohort297,192607,348
Any sustained destination86%92%92%
Stayed in education86%82%86%
— school sixth form0%23%34%
— sixth form college0%2%13%
— further education college76%56%37%
— other education10%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%6%3%
Employment0%4%3%
No sustained destination14%6%6%
Destination unknown0%2%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureSouthbrook SchoolDevonEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)0.245.446.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths0%46%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths0%66%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%37%41%
EBacc average point score0.024.024.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort35%22%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils0.032.334.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils0.349.050.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language0%6%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Mathematics13%88%22%

Other secondary schools in Devon

Atlantic Academy

Free schools · 242 pupils

80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.1

Axe Valley Academy

Academy sponsor led · 741 pupils

84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.2

Bideford College

Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,455 pupils

71% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.7

Braunton Academy

Academy converter · 828 pupils

87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.7

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.