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Best secondary schools in Swindon

12 of 13 secondary schools ranked by Progress 8 · all Swindon schools · primary schools

Ranked on Progress 8, 2023/24 — the most recent year each school has published. Official data, not our opinion — but the ranking is only as good as the measure, and a single number never describes a school.

# School Progress 8 Ofsted Places Catchment
1 St Joseph's Catholic College Swindon hidden gem 0.37 Good improving about even 0.93 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
2 Lydiard Park Academy Swindon hidden gem 0.19 Good about even 0.95 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
3 The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College Swindon 0.18 Good about even 1.11 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
4 Highworth Warneford School Swindon 0.13 Requires improvement about even 0.93 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
5 Great Western Academy Swindon hidden gem 0.12 Good about even 0.9 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
6 Abbey Park School Swindon 0.0 Good oversubscribed 1.26 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
7 Lawn Manor Academy Swindon hidden gem -0.03 Good improving about even 0.99 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
8 Nova Hreod Academy Swindon hidden gem -0.09 Good undersubscribed 0.67 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
9 The Commonweal School Swindon -0.11 Good about even 1.01 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
10 Kingsdown School Swindon -0.36 Good about even 1.02 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
11 The Dorcan Academy Swindon -0.39 Good improving about even 1.1 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
12 UTC Swindon Swindon -1.46 Requires improvement — approximate

Also in Swindon

1 further secondary school with no published Progress 8 for the latest year — usually too small a cohort to report, newly opened, or a special school. Listed because leaving them out would make this a misleading picture of Swindon, not a fairer one.

Applying in Swindon

Knowing which school is best is only half of it — these are the deadlines that decide whether you can apply at all.

Rankings compare published results. They do not tell you which school your child will get into — that depends on where you live, sibling and faith priority, and how many people apply this year. Ask below, or check the Swindon admission criteria.

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