Bedminster Down School

Bedminster Down School is a mixed gender secondary school with academy status, located in the Bishopsworth area of Bristol, England.

Bedminster Down School
View from Tyntesfield Road
Location
Donald Road Bristol , BS13 7DQ England
Coordinates	51.421652°N 2.619526°W / 51.421652; -2.619526
Information
Type	Secondary Academy
Motto	Belief, Determination, Success
Established	2012
Trust	Futura Learning Partnership[1]
Department for Education URN	138204 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Head teacher	Louise Davies
Gender	Mixed
Age	11 to 16
Enrolment	1,047
Capacity	1,080
Houses	Southey, Blackwell, James, Moore
Colour(s)	Red, Blue, Purple, Green
Publication	Bedminster Down Load
Website	www.bedminsterdown.org.uk

History

Main entrance on Donald Road

The school originally opened in 1955 as a comprehensive,^{[citation needed]} although it was technically reestablished on 1 June 2012 upon officially becoming an academy.^[2] This switch was initially planned for September 2011, but was delayed.^[3]

In the 1960s, the school benefited from Bristol's "Schools' Art Collection", and ceramics by noted potters were displayed at the school.^[4]

In 2010, the head teacher of ten years, Marius Frank, left the school to become CEO of ASDAN, an education charity also based in Bristol.^[5]

The school was part of The Malago Learning Partnership (MLP). MLP was a collaboration between Bedminster Down, Cheddar Grove Primary, Greenfield Primary, Headley Park Primary, Parson Street Primary, Victoria Park Primary and St Peters CofE Primary.^[6]

As of 2024, the school is a member of Futura Learning Partnership, a multi-academy trust which operates 27 schools in the West Country.^[7] The current head teacher is Louise Davies.^[8]

Building

In 2003, the school was selected as one of four schools in Bristol to be completely rebuilt through the PFI programme.^[9] Work began on the new school building in 2004, which opened in Easter 2006.^[10]

Academic achievement

The school has improved its results year on year and achieved its best ever GCSE scores in 2016, the table below shows the percentage of students hitting the key measure of 5 A*-C (9 – 4 from 2017 onward) including English and Mathematics over the last 5 years.^[11]

2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
40%	36%	49%	37%	50%	56%	65%

Ofsted

The school received a 'Good' rating following its last full Ofsted inspection, which took place on 6 and 7 November 2014. In specific areas, it received the following ratings:^[12]

Area	Grade
Overall Effectiveness	2 – Good
Achievement Of Pupils	2 – Good
Quality Of Teaching	2 – Good
Behaviour And Safety Of Pupils	2 – Good
Leadership And Management	2 – Good

A follow-up inspection on 29 and 30 November 2023 concluded that there was no change to the previous 'Good' rating.^[8]