Abbey Park School
Academy sponsor led · 1,193 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.2
Academy converter
The Dorcan Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 881of 1,234 places
- Free school meals
- 30.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 163
- Ofsted
- Good, 12 July 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Dorcan Technology College (URN 126450, until 1 December 2011).
What the data says
The Dorcan Academy has no sixth form. Of the 132 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 7% moved to a sixth form college, 70% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 29% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 44.3 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Swindon, with 45% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in French and Spanish and German add up to 18% of the year group, and 15% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
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 Swindon and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Dorcan Academy | Swindon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 132 | 2,533 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 90% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 82% | 87% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 5% | 19% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 7% | 19% | 13% |
| — further education college | 70% | 47% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Dorcan Academy | Swindon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 44.3 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 15% | 34% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.79 | 3.91 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 31% | 23% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 37.2 | 32.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.5 | 47.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 11% | 16% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 161 | 99% | 88% | 12% | 22% | 69% |
| English Language | 161 | 99% | 89% | 19% | 20% | 73% |
| English Literature | 155 | 95% | 86% | 10% | 21% | 69% |
| Combined Science | 146 | 90% | 65% | 9% | 9% | 60% |
| Geography | 84 | 52% | 41% | 13% | 25% | 49% |
| History | 64 | 39% | 41% | 39% | 26% | 70% |
| Business Studies | 59 | 36% | 18% | 10% | 20% | 59% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 51 | 31% | 8% | 4% | 21% | 53% |
| Sociology | 47 | 29% | 4% | 15% | 21% | 64% |
| Fine Art | 38 | 23% | 9% | 16% | 28% | 71% |
| Photography | 30 | 18% | 6% | 3% | 19% | 77% |
| Music | 24 | 15% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 25% |
| French | 22 | 13% | 18% | 32% | 29% | 82% |
| Design and Technology | 19 | 12% | 11% | 5% | 23% | 53% |
| Religious Studies | 13 | 8% | 31% | 23% | 32% | 46% |
| Biology | 13 | 8% | 23% | 38% | 45% | 69% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 6% | 23% | 60% | 47% | 90% |
| Physics | 9 | 6% | 23% | 44% | 46% | 89% |
| Spanish | 6 | 4% | 19% | 50% | 27% | 100% |
| Polish | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 1% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
| Drama | 1 | 1% | 7% | — | 27% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| German | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 41 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 39 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 27 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 21 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 16 | — | — |
| Art and Design | 5 | — | — |
| Animal Care (Non-Agricultural) | 1 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Swindon
Great Western Academy
Free schools · sixth form · 1,039 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Kingsdown School
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82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.4
Lawn Manor Academy
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86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.5
Lydiard Park Academy
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86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.0
Nova Hreod Academy
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84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.1
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.