Balcarras School
East End Road, Cheltenham, GL53 8QF
1,427 pupils · 105% of 1,359 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Trust
- THE BALCARRAS TRUST
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Free school meals
- 6.4%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 4 March 2025, published 15 April 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 58.5 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 66.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 84% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 47.9% |
Progress 8 is not published nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26 while KS2 baselines are missing (no SATs in 2020/21). It returns from 2026/27.
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Oversubscribed — 1.32 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 181 | 239 | 776 | 181 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 185 | 255 | 734 | 185 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 190 | 231 | 654 | 190 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 184 | 243 | 631 | 184 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 188 | 240 | 632 | 188 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 194 | 202 | 598 | 194 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 187 | 263 | 628 | 187 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 218 | 279 | 667 | 218 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- The High School Leckhampton 3.4 km · Outstanding (2024) · previous system
- Pittville School 3.6 km · Standards maintained (2025)
- Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre 3.9 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- Pate's Grammar School 5.7 km · Outstanding (2024) · previous system
- All Saints' Academy, Cheltenham 5.8 km · Some aspects not as strong (2024)
- Cleeve School 6.7 km · No overall grade (2025)
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.