Bideford College, Bideford

Overview

Bideford College is a state-funded school (academy sponsor led) in Bideford, South West, for pupils aged 11–18. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.

School details

Official establishment type: Academy sponsor led
Establishment group: Academies
Phase of education: Secondary
Age range: Ages 11–18
Gender of entry: Mixed
Boarding: No boarders
Sixth form: Yes
School capacity: 2,232
Pupils on roll: 1,455
URN: 142540

Admissions

Admissions policy: Non-selective
Local authority: Devon
Academy trust or group: ATHENA LEARNING TRUST

Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.

School places

DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)

Capacity at survey date: 2,232
Pupils on roll: 1,432
Unfilled places at survey date: 800

A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data

Official admissions data

Applications & demand

Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.

2026/27 admissions · Year 7

First preferences: 251
Total preferences: 275
Offers made: 250

First preferences compared with offers

1 first preferences per offer

251 first preferences and 250 offers were recorded for 2026/27.

What does this mean?

This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.

First preferences over time

Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.

Admissions history

Admissions year	First preferences	Total preferences	Offers made
2026/27	251	275	250
2025/26	267	297	276
2024/25	276	312	276
2023/24	312	339	290
2022/23	282	314	282

Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.

Official performance data

School performance

Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.

2024/25 results

Attainment 8 score
School
45.7
England
47.1
Pupils included: 228
Grade 5 or above in English & maths
School
50.4%
England
46.5%
Pupils included: 228
Grade 4 or above in English & maths
School
69.3%
England
66.4%
Pupils included: 228
Entering the EBacc
School
50%
England
41.5%
Pupils included: 228

Progress 8 was not published for 2024/25.

Source: Department for Education · School performance data.

Official inspection data

Ofsted inspections

Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.

Ofsted report card

Inspected 19 May 2026 · Published 5 July 2026

Renewed education inspection framework

Safeguarding standards: Met
Inclusion: Needs attention
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Achievement: Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour: Needs attention
Personal development and wellbeing: Expected standard
Early years (where applicable): Not applicable
Post-16 provision (where applicable): Expected standard
Leadership and governance: Needs attention

View the full report card on Ofsted(opens in a new tab)

Previous inspection information

Ofsted inspection
Inspected 7 June 2022 · Published 31 July 2022
Overall effectiveness: Good
Safeguarding was effective: Yes
View on Ofsted(opens in a new tab)

Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.

School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.

Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school

Location

Address: Abbotsham Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3AR
Local authority: Devon
Area: Schools in Torridge

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