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Key dates for 2027What last distance offered meansPrimary school open daysWhen does my child start school?Places and appealsSixth form and collegeJargon busterAbout the data

Jargon buster

Every school and admissions term you are likely to meet, explained in a line or two. Tap a word to jump to it.

Starting school and year groups

Which year group is my child in?
In England the school year runs from 1 September to 31 August. Children born in the same school year are in the same year group. A child starts Reception in the September after their fourth birthday. Use the start-school calculator to check.
Compulsory school age
Children must be in education from the start of the term after their fifth birthday. Most start Reception before then, at four. The terms start on 1 September, 1 January and 1 April for this purpose.
Starting Reception later in the year (deferred entry)
If your child has a place, you can delay the start until later in the Reception year, or ask for part-time hours, until they reach compulsory school age. The school keeps the place for them. You cannot delay into Year 1 this way.
Summer-born children
Children born between 1 April and 31 August. You can ask for your child to start Reception a year later, in the year they turn five. The admissions authority for the school decides, so ask the council early. If agreed, your child usually stays a year behind their age group.
Key stages
StageYear groupsAgesTests at the end
Early yearsNursery and Reception3 to 5Reception check-in at the start, early years profile at the end
Key stage 1Years 1 and 25 to 7Phonics check in Year 1
Key stage 2Years 3 to 67 to 11Times tables check in Year 4, SATs in Year 6
Key stage 3Years 7 to 911 to 14None nationally
Key stage 4Years 10 and 1114 to 16GCSEs
Sixth form (key stage 5)Years 12 and 1316 to 18A levels and other courses
Infant and junior schools
Infant schools teach children aged 4 to 7 (Reception to Year 2), so they have no Year 6 SATs. Junior schools take children from 7 to 11. Many infant schools are linked with a junior school.

Getting a place

Admission number (PAN)
The number of children a school takes into its starting year, such as 60 in Reception. When more families apply than this, the school is oversubscribed.
Oversubscription rules (oversubscription criteria)
The ordered list of rules used to decide who gets a place when there are more applicants than places. A typical order is children in care, then brothers and sisters, then distance. Every school page on this site shows the rules or links to them.
Children in care (looked-after and previously looked-after children)
Children who are, or were, in the care of a council, including those adopted from care. By law they come first in almost every school's rules.
Brothers and sisters (sibling priority)
Many schools give priority to a child whose brother or sister is still at the school when they start. Check each school's rules for who counts.
Furthest distance offered
On offer day the council gives places using each school's rules, often looked-after children first, then siblings, then catchment or distance. The furthest distance offered is how far away (in a straight line) the last child to get a place on distance lived. It changes every year.
Catchment area
An area set by some schools whose children get priority. Living inside it does not always guarantee a place, and some schools fill entirely from their catchment.
First choice and preferences
Families list up to three schools in order. "Families putting it first, for each place" above 1 means more families made it their first choice than it had places.
Offer day (national offer day)
The day the council tells every family which school their child has been offered: 1 March for secondary and 16 April for primary (or the next working day). See key dates.
Waiting lists
If your child does not get a school you asked for, they can go on its waiting list. The list is kept in the order of the school's rules, not by how long you have waited, so a child who moves nearby can go above yours. Lists must be kept until at least 31 December.
Appeals
If your child is refused a place, you have the right to appeal to an independent panel. You usually have at least 20 school days from the refusal letter. See school places and appeals for how often appeals succeed in Gloucestershire.
Infant class size limit
By law, classes in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 cannot have more than 30 children for each teacher. Because of this, appeals for these years can only succeed in narrow cases, such as a mistake in how the rules were applied.
Moving schools during the year (in-year admissions)
Applying for a place at any other time than the normal start, for example after moving house. In Gloucestershire you apply to each school directly, using the council's in-year form. The council's in-year team can advise if schools are full.
How full the school is
The number of pupils on roll compared with the places the school has room for, from the government's school capacity survey. A new or growing school fills one year group at a time.
The 11+ test (grammar school test)
The test children sit at the start of Year 6 to try for a grammar school place. Reaching the pass mark (the "qualifying score") makes a child eligible, but it does not guarantee a place: the school's rules then decide.
Free school transport
Children can usually get free transport if they go to their nearest suitable school and it is more than 2 miles away (under 8) or 3 miles away (8 and over). There are extra rules for low-income families. The council decides.

Primary school tests (SATs)

Phonics check (phonics screening check)
A short check in June of Year 1. A child reads 40 words aloud to a teacher, including some made-up words, to show they can sound out letters. Children who do not reach the standard take it again in Year 2.
Times tables check (multiplication tables check)
A short online check in June of Year 4. Children answer 25 times table questions up to 12 × 12, with six seconds for each.
Expected level ("expected standard")
At the end of Year 6, children sit tests in reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling, and teachers judge their writing. The expected level is what the government expects most 11-year-olds to reach. The guide shows how many children in every 100 reached it in all three of reading, writing and maths.
Working above the expected level ("higher standard" or "greater depth")
Children who did comfortably better than the expected level: a high test score in reading and maths, and writing judged at greater depth.
Test scores of 80 to 120 ("scaled scores")
SATs test marks are turned into a score from 80 to 120. 100 is the expected level, so a school average of 106 means pupils did well above it.

Secondary school results (GCSEs and A levels)

GCSE grades 9 to 1
GCSEs are graded from 9 (highest) to 1, with U for ungraded. They replaced letter grades in 2017 to 2020. Roughly:
Number gradeOld letter grade
9Above A*
8Between A* and A
7A
6High B
5 (strong pass)Between B and C
4 (standard pass)C
3D and E
2E and F
1F and G
Pupils without grade 4 in English or maths must keep studying it after 16.
Average GCSE grade ("Attainment 8")
A score made from each pupil's best eight GCSEs, with English and maths counting double. Divide it by 10 for a rough average grade per subject: a score of 50 is about a grade 5. 10 points of difference is about one grade in every subject.
Progress 8
A measure of how much progress pupils made between their Year 6 SATs and their GCSEs, compared with similar pupils across England. 0 is average. It is not published for 2025 or 2026 GCSEs, because those pupils' SATs were cancelled during Covid, so this site does not show it.
English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
A set of GCSEs: English, maths, two sciences, history or geography, and a language. It is not a separate qualification. The share of pupils taking it says more about which subjects a school offers than about its quality.
Gap between pupils from lower-income families and others
The difference in average GCSE results between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils at the same school. A smaller gap is better.
Grammar and non-grammar schools
Gloucestershire has seven grammar schools, which choose pupils by the 11+ test. All other state secondaries take pupils of all abilities. Because grammar pupils are selected, the guide compares grammar schools with each other.
A level grades
A levels are graded A* to E. The guide shows the average grade per A level and the average of each student's best three. "AAB or better" means grades of at least A, A and B.
Average A level points (average point score)
A levels are turned into points (A* = 60, A = 50, B = 40, C = 30, D = 20, E = 10) and averaged per subject. 40 is about a B.
Where pupils went next ("destinations")
What pupils were doing for at least two terms after leaving: sixth form, college, an apprenticeship, work or university. "Did not stay in education or work" means they did not stay in any of these for that long.

Who the pupils are

Disadvantaged pupils / lower-income families
Pupils eligible for free school meals at any time in the last six years, or who are or were in care. The government uses this as its main measure of family income.
Free school meals (FSM)
Pupils whose families get certain benefits and have a low income can have free school meals. The share of pupils eligible is a sign of how many families at the school have lower incomes. It is background information, not a judgement of the school.
Pupil premium
Extra money the government gives schools for each disadvantaged pupil, to help them do well. Some schools, including most Gloucestershire grammar schools, give these pupils priority for places.
Another language at home ("EAL")
English as an additional language: pupils whose first language is not English. It says nothing about how well they speak English.

Special educational needs (SEND)

Extra help for special needs ("SEN support")
Help the school gives a child with special educational needs, such as extra teaching or support from a teaching assistant, without a formal plan from the council.
Formal special needs plan ("EHC plan")
An education, health and care plan is a legal document agreed with the council for children who need more support than a school can usually give. It names the school the child will attend. Places at special educational needs (SEN) schools are given this way.
Special needs unit ("resourced provision")
A unit or base inside a mainstream school for children with a particular kind of need, such as autism or hearing impairment. Places are usually arranged by the council through an EHC plan.

Attendance and behaviour

School missed ("overall absence")
The share of school sessions (half days) pupils missed, for any reason, including illness. Across England it is usually between 5% and 8%.
Pupils who miss a lot of school ("persistent absence")
Pupils who missed one day in ten or more. That is roughly a day every two weeks.
Suspensions
When a pupil is sent home for a fixed number of days because of their behaviour. The guide shows the number of suspensions for every 100 pupils. Schools use different behaviour policies, so compare with care.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspections
Ofsted inspects state schools every few years. Until 2024 it gave one overall grade: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate. Since November 2025 it publishes a report card instead, grading each area on a five-point scale from Urgent improvement to Exceptional.
Ofsted report card grades
Since November 2025, inspectors grade each area of a school on five steps: Urgent improvement, Needs attention, Expected standard, Strong standard and Exceptional. They also say whether safeguarding (keeping children safe) is met or not met. "Expected standard" means the school is doing what it should.
Short Ofsted checks ("ungraded inspections")
A shorter visit to a school already judged Good or Outstanding. It finds either that the school is still at that grade, or that a full inspection is needed. "Improving" means inspectors saw signs it could reach a higher grade; "concerns" means they saw signs it could be slipping.
Ofsted Parent View
An online survey where parents answer questions about their child's school. This site shows the results only where at least 10 parents answered.

Types of school

Community schools
Run by the council, which sets the admission rules.
Voluntary controlled schools
Usually Church of England schools where the council runs admissions. Most do not give priority for faith.
Voluntary aided schools
Usually church schools that set their own admission rules, which may give priority to families of the faith.
Foundation schools
Council-funded schools whose governors set the admission rules.
Academies and trusts (multi-academy trust)
Academies are state schools run by a charitable trust rather than the council, and set their own admission rules. Many belong to a multi-academy trust with other schools. They are free to attend, like any state school.
Free schools
New academies set up from scratch, often by a trust or a group of parents. Free to attend.
Teachers who stayed a year
Of the teachers working at the school in one November, the share still working there the next November.

Reading the figures on this site

Positions such as "3rd of 34"
Where the school comes among Gloucestershire schools with a published figure. 1st is the best result, or the lowest absence or suspensions. Grammar schools are compared with grammar schools, and other secondaries with each other.
Typical
The figure for the school in the middle when every Gloucestershire school of that type is lined up from highest to lowest: half do better and half do worse. (Statisticians call this the median.) Grammar schools are compared with other grammar schools.
Compared with schools with similar pupils ("results for its intake")
Children from lower-income families tend to get lower exam results, for reasons mostly outside a school's control. So the guide compares each school's results with what schools across England with a similar share of these pupils get. A plus figure means better than you would expect for its pupils; a minus figure means lower. It is a rough guide: it does not allow for everything, such as special needs or how pupils did at primary school.