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Secondary · TA1 · Somerset

The Castle School

Wellington Road, Taunton, TA1 5AU

BLACKDOWN EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP is the academy trust. Admissions rules still sit with the school and your local council.

Outstanding

At a glance

Key published figures for this school.

OfstedOutstanding
Attendance95.5%
AttainmentProgress 8: +0.60
AdmissionsUsually oversubscribed
Pupils1207

Ofsted inspection

Latest outcome

Outstanding

Inspection history

  1. Previous gradedOutstanding

This page shows previous graded and latest ungraded outcomes when Ofsted publishes them in the national file. Full history stays on the Ofsted report.

View on Ofsted

School figures

Coloured bars compare this school with the average for other schools in TA1. Where we have them, council (Somerset) and England figures appear under FSM, SEN and attendance. FSM, SEN and EAL are context, not quality scores. For attendance, higher is usually better.

Pupils on roll
1207
Free school meals
13.3%
7% below district average (20.3%)

Also: Somerset 22.4% · England 25.8%

SEN
12.6%
6.8% below district average (19.4%)

Also: Somerset 18.2% · England 16.5%

EAL
13.2%
14.9% below district average (28.1%)
Attendance
95.5%
0.1% below district average (95.6%)

Also: Somerset 91% · England 91.9%

Persistent absence
9.9%
Progress 8
+0.60 (2023/24)
Attainment 8
53.4
Grade 5+ English & maths
57.7%
Grade 4+ English & maths
79.5%
Entered for EBacc
30.1%
EBacc average point score
4.72

Each metric uses its own colour so you can tell the rows apart. The lighter bar is the TA1 average; the darker bar is this school.

Trends over time

Attendance

Autumn and spring term attendance from DfE pupil absence data (where published for this URN).

  • 2020/2196.8%
  • 2021/2292.3%
  • 2022/2393%
  • 2023/2493.5%
  • 2024/2592.9%

Admissions

Demand signal
Usually oversubscribed
Published capacity (GIAS)
1215
Pupils on roll
1207

Indicative signal from published roll versus GIAS capacity. Not applications versus offers, and not a guarantee of a place.

Published admission number (PAN) and applications versus offers are not in our national datasets yet. Use your council booklet.

Check your council admissions booklet via the Somerset page.

SEN support

SEN %
12.6%
On-site provision
None listed in GIAS

A higher SEN percentage can mean experience with support needs, or more demand on staff. Ask the SENCO what is available day to day.

Sources and freshness

  • School year for most DfE figures: 2024/25.
  • Pipeline last checked: Sept 2026.
  • Council and England attendance / FSM tables: 2024/25.
  • School figures from DfE / GIAS / Ofsted where published. District averages use other schools in this postcode district. Council and England figures use DfE local authority and national tables for the matching phase.
  • School photos are not shown yet. Schools will be able to add one later.
  • Methodology · Data updates