Great Western Academy
Free schools · sixth form · 1,039 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Academy sponsor led
Abbey Park School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,193of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 16.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 231
- Ofsted
- Good, 17 January 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Abbey Park School (URN 131196, until 31 March 2018).
What the data says
Abbey Park School has no sixth form. Of the 208 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 25% moved to a sixth form college, 50% to a further education college and 4% started an apprenticeship.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 30% 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 46.2 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Swindon, with 51% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Abbey Park School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
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 | Abbey Park School | Swindon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 208 | 2,533 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 93% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 87% | 87% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 13% | 19% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 25% | 19% | 13% |
| — further education college | 50% | 47% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Abbey Park School | Swindon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 46.2 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 42% | 34% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.18 | 3.91 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 17% | 23% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 37.5 | 32.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 48.0 | 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 | 230 | 100% | 88% | 17% | 22% | 77% |
| English Language | 230 | 100% | 89% | 10% | 20% | 71% |
| English Literature | 227 | 98% | 86% | 11% | 21% | 74% |
| Combined Science | 197 | 85% | 65% | 6% | 9% | 70% |
| History | 145 | 63% | 41% | 21% | 26% | 61% |
| Business Studies | 99 | 43% | 18% | 9% | 20% | 62% |
| Design and Technology | 76 | 33% | 11% | 7% | 23% | 49% |
| Geography | 75 | 32% | 41% | 19% | 25% | 57% |
| Spanish | 71 | 31% | 19% | 18% | 27% | 70% |
| Sociology | 69 | 30% | 4% | 38% | 21% | 80% |
| Photography | 64 | 28% | 6% | 20% | 19% | 89% |
| Media Studies | 46 | 20% | 4% | 9% | 20% | 52% |
| Fine Art | 44 | 19% | 9% | 11% | 28% | 68% |
| Physical Education | 29 | 13% | 11% | 14% | 24% | 79% |
| Physics | 28 | 12% | 23% | 54% | 46% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 28 | 12% | 13% | 14% | 30% | 68% |
| Chemistry | 28 | 12% | 23% | 57% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 28 | 12% | 23% | 68% | 45% | 100% |
| French | 20 | 9% | 18% | 30% | 29% | 85% |
| Religious Studies | 19 | 8% | 31% | 37% | 32% | 84% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 17 | 7% | 8% | 12% | 21% | 65% |
| Drama | 14 | 6% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 57% |
| Music | 12 | 5% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 42% |
| Polish | 9 | 4% | 1% | 100% | 84% | 100% |
| Portuguese | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Italian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Modern Greek | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 0% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 43 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Swindon
Kingsdown School
Academy converter · 1,108 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.4
Lawn Manor Academy
Academy converter · 969 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.5
Lydiard Park Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,302 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.0
Nova Hreod Academy
Academy converter · 1,044 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.1
St Joseph's Catholic College
Academy converter · 1,425 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.0
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.