Stanchester Academy Review 2026: An improving 11–16 secondary with a strong reading focus

In a rural pocket of Somerset, Stanchester Academy serves a wide spread of villages and market towns around Stoke-sub-Hamdon, with a roll of just over 800 pupils and an 11–16 age range. The current phase is best described as stabilisation with selective strengths, rather than a finished turnaround.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (19 and 20 November 2024, published 29 January 2025) judged Quality of Education as Requires Improvement, alongside Requires Improvement for Behaviour and Attitudes and Leadership and Management, with Personal Development graded Good. That combination points to a school where the broader culture and opportunities are working better than day-to-day consistency in classrooms and routines.

Leadership has been relatively new. Gregg Mockridge joined as headteacher in September 2022, and the academy sits within Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust, which it joined in December 2019. For families, the key question is fit, particularly for pupils who benefit from structure, clear routines, and a reading-led approach, while also needing reassurance on consistency across subjects and behaviour corridors between lessons.

The organising idea that comes through most clearly is purposeful routine. The school day is described as orderly and focused, with most pupils concentrating in lessons and disruption not typically dominating classrooms. Relationships with staff are positioned as supportive, and the reward culture is explicitly tied to a set of values, ambition, respect and community.

Pastoral tone appears strongest where it is concrete. The school has put visible emphasis on addressing poor behaviour, including bullying, and pupils are said to gain confidence from the way incidents are handled. That matters, because the report also flags that conduct is not uniform across the site; there are specific places where lapses are more frequent, and some pupils receive repeated sanctions. In practical terms, this often shows up as the difference between learning time and transition time, and families should ask how the school is tightening expectations outside the classroom as well as inside it.

A notable strength sits in wider experience. Pupils find common ground through clubs, with “games with brains” named, alongside sport such as netball. Trips are part of the offer, including an overseas history visit to Berlin referenced in the latest inspection. For many pupils, those shared activities become the glue that keeps attendance and engagement stable through Key Stage 3 and into GCSE years.

Academic outcomes here sit below the England middle band on the available measures, with a mixed profile that will matter depending on a child’s starting point and learning style.

On FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), the academy is ranked 2,951st in England and 1st in Stoke-sub-Hamdon. This places outcomes below England average overall, within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure (around the 64th percentile).

The headline GCSE metrics show an Attainment 8 score of 42.9 and a Progress 8 score of -0.17. A negative Progress 8 figure typically indicates that, on average, pupils make slightly less progress than similar pupils nationally from the end of primary school to GCSE.

Two implications follow. First, pupils who thrive with strong routines, explicit teaching, and frequent checking for understanding may do well, especially where subject teams are already consistent. Second, families of children who need highly reliable classroom standards across every subject should interrogate how the school is ensuring that improvements are not confined to pockets.

The most persuasive thread in the teaching narrative is reading. Reading is described as central, with a curriculum in English that explicitly builds knowledge and vocabulary, and routines that normalise sharing books with staff and peers. Support is in place for pupils who need to strengthen weaker aspects of reading.

Curriculum ambition is also described as rising. Pupils study a wider range of subjects at Key Stage 4 than in the past, which can improve engagement and help pupils find areas of strength. The challenge, however, is consistency and depth. In some subjects, content is said to be too simple and tasks do not push pupils far enough into complex ideas, which can cap progress for both high prior attainers and those who need carefully sequenced steps to build confidence.

Assessment and checking for understanding appears to be improving, with a stronger approach emerging in some subject areas, focused on the most important content and common misconceptions. The practical question for families is whether that approach is now embedded across departments, so that pupils experience the same level of clarity and feedback whether they are in English, humanities, science, or practical subjects.

Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is described as variable. Teaching is often adapted and staff training is in place, but there are still occasions where needs are not understood or addressed effectively. For families, that suggests a careful conversation with the SEN team is sensible, including how strategies are shared with all staff and how consistently classroom adjustments are monitored.

As an 11–16 academy, the principal destination story is the move into post-16 study at sixth form or college, alongside apprenticeships and technical routes. The school is also required to provide structured encounters with technical education and apprenticeships through the Provider Access legislation, which supports informed choices before GCSE options lock in.

The most useful lens for families is not a single “best” route, but a well-supported set of pathways. A school can be a strong fit when it helps pupils align GCSE choices to realistic post-16 plans, provides impartial guidance, and ensures that pupils with additional needs receive tailored advice rather than generic assemblies.

Because this is not a sixth-form setting, families should ask two practical questions early: what the school’s typical routes are at 16 (local college partners, sixth forms used most often), and how Year 11 guidance is delivered (one-to-one interviews, careers events, and how parents are included). Where pupils are undecided, the strength of the personal development provision graded Good is a positive signal, because it suggests broader preparation is working even as academic consistency improves.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated by Somerset local authority. For September 2026 entry, the national closing date for applications is 31 October 2025, with outcomes issued on 2 March 2026 for Somerset applicants. Somerset also sets a deadline for exceptional circumstances and supplementary information of 5 December 2025, and an appeals deadline of 30 March 2026 for those notified on 2 March 2026.

The most important practical implication is timing. Families should not wait for open evenings to start the application process, because the formal deadline arrives in late October. Those moving into the area should also check transport eligibility rules and understand how late applications are handled, particularly if a preference is submitted after the coordinated deadline.

Catchment and distance rules can vary year to year and are set through the local authority scheme and the academy’s admissions policy. Where distance is a deciding factor in any year, families should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check their home-to-school distance precisely and avoid assumptions based on postcode proximity alone.

Pastoral care is best judged in the detail of behaviour, attendance, and safeguarding routines. The latest inspection describes an orderly environment for most pupils, with increasing confidence in the way the school addresses poor behaviour, including bullying. That is meaningful progress when paired with clear expectations, because pupils often learn best when lesson time is predictable.

The improvement work is not finished. Conduct issues are still said to crop up more frequently in certain areas of the site, and some pupils receive repeated sanctions. Attendance is another focal point, with disadvantaged pupils and pupils with additional needs identified as often absent, and with support not consistently translating into sustained improvement for individuals. Parents of children prone to anxiety, school avoidance, or inconsistent attendance should ask how the school tracks patterns, how quickly early warning signs are acted on, and what the reintegration plan looks like after absence.

Pupils receive guidance from staff and external speakers that supports safety and wellbeing, which aligns with the Good judgement in Personal Development. In practice, that should show up as coherent PSHE, clear safeguarding messaging, and accessible routes for pupils to raise concerns.

Extracurricular provision is most convincing when it is specific. “Games with brains” is named as a club that helps pupils find common ground, alongside sports activities including netball. That mix matters in a school community, because it gives both the academically inclined and the socially motivated a place to belong.

Trips are another indicator of breadth. The inspection references international travel through a history trip to Berlin, which signals a willingness to extend learning beyond the classroom and give pupils cultural context. For pupils who may not naturally see themselves as “academic”, these experiences can be a turning point, they make subjects feel real and give pupils something to aim at.

Families should ask how extracurricular access is managed, including transport home after clubs in a rural area, cost support where needed, and whether Year 7 and Year 8 participation is actively promoted to support transition into secondary routines.

Somerset’s admissions guide confirms the key coordinated dates for September 2026 entry, and families should align visits and decision-making to the late October deadline. For day-to-day logistics, transport planning matters in this area, particularly for pupils travelling from surrounding villages. Somerset publishes guidance on secondary transport arrangements, and eligibility can depend on distance and the school named as the nearest suitable option.

Published information available through official channels does not consistently state start and finish times in a single place, so families should confirm the daily timetable directly before committing to wraparound childcare plans and transport bookings.

• Consistency across subjects. The curriculum is becoming more ambitious, but depth and challenge are not yet reliable in every subject. This can matter most for pupils who need tight sequencing and frequent feedback to stay confident.

• Behaviour between lessons. The environment is generally orderly, but conduct is not uniform across the site. Families should ask how corridor routines, supervision, and sanctions are being tightened so that standards match classroom expectations.

• Attendance and punctuality. Persistent absence is highlighted for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with additional needs, with support not always leading to sustained improvement for individuals. If your child is prone to anxiety or school refusal, interrogate the school’s early intervention approach.

• Inspection profile. The most recent inspection grades show Personal Development stronger than core academic and behaviour judgements. For some families that is acceptable, for others it is a reason to look closely at improvement plans and measurable milestones.

Stanchester Academy is an 11–16 school in a phase of improvement, with an especially clear emphasis on reading and a purposeful day-to-day routine for most pupils. Personal development appears to be a relative strength, and the wider offer includes clubs and trips that can anchor belonging, particularly in Key Stage 3.

It suits families who want a local Somerset secondary with structured routines, a reading-led approach, and a school that is candid about what it is still improving. Families prioritising consistently strong outcomes across all subjects, or those needing very high reliability of behaviour standards in every corner of the site, should look carefully at how improvement is being secured and sustained.