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The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School

Secondary · Hereford · HR1 1UU

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Needs attentionAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Needs attentionLeadership & governance: Needs attentionEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 10 February 2026 · report published 19 April 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,089 pupils · 96% of 1,130 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
15.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
14.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
13.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.bhbs.hereford.sch.uk
URN
116991

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 189 families named it first for 215 Year 7 places, 0.88 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 7.92 miles, the only Year 7 round we hold for it. At its report-card inspection on 10 February 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.88 first-choice applications per place

215 places offered · 189 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 7.92 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 7.92 miles

measured by shortest walking route.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

203 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
45.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
68%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
46.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school45.9
Median of its 12 closest peers48
Herefordshire, County of average45
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Chancellor's SchoolHatfield · 109 miles awayGood47.6
Queensbury AcademyDunstable · 93 miles awayRequires improvement40
Manor High SchoolLeicester · 78 miles awayGood58.9
Harris Academy FalconwoodWelling · 126 miles awayGood47.3
Sawston Village CollegeCambridge · 121 miles awayGood55.5
Woldgate School and Sixth Form CollegeYork · 152 miles awayNo current grade46.9
Holy Cross Catholic High SchoolChorley · 109 miles awayGood55
Flixton Girls SchoolManchester · 97 miles awayGood48.3
Brayton AcademySelby · 136 miles awayOutstanding (2019)53.4
The Windsor Boys' SchoolWindsor · 97 miles awayGood47.8
John Hanson Community SchoolAndover · 78 miles awayGood43.5
Matthew Arnold SchoolOxford · 63 miles awayGood56.5

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
8 of 8 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 79% (Herefordshire, County of 83%, England 59%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Herefordshire, County of 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 4% (Herefordshire, County of 8%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Herefordshire, County of 1%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 3% (Herefordshire, County of 2%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Herefordshire, County of 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Herefordshire, County of 0%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (Herefordshire, County of 0%, England 5%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
7.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
18.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

6.97 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Herefordshire, County of: 13.05 suspensions and 0.25 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

97% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 1% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

75.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 9.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £45,349; 10.9% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£7,208
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 7% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (7%) · supplies and services 11% (10%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 4% (2%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £952,656; in-year balance -£682,581

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
96%
Continuing in education
89%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
2%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher36.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications13.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work40.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways13.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health52.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier88.8%62.3%
Social housing1.2%17.1%
Privately rented10.1%20.5%
Detached houses33.6%22.9%
Flats1.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms33.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van10.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01014090 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£315,000274 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£265,000–£366,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (80)£380,000
Semi-detached (122)£317,500
Terraced (61)£227,000
Flat (11)£150,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
6an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
9an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools