UK Schools
Bristol Free School
Bristol Free School is a mixed secondary free school in Bristol, Bristol City Council, teaching 1,304 pupils aged 11 to 19. Ofsted graded achievement as Strong standard at its most recent inspection in March 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 56.3 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 24 July 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for Bristol Free School.
Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Bristol Free School.
- 1 Year 7 and Year 12 Induction Day
- 2 Inset Day
- 3–30 Autumn Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 1–24 Autumn Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
- 3–30 Autumn Term (continues)
- 1–19 Autumn Term (continues)
- 19 Half Day
- 22–31 Christmas Holiday
- 1–2 Christmas Holiday
- 5–31 Spring Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 1–13 Spring Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
- 23–28 Spring Term (continues)
- 1–27 Spring Term (continues)
- 30–31 Easter Holiday
- 1–10 Easter Holiday
- 13–30 Summer Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 1–22 Summer Term (Red/Blue Weeks)
- 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
- 1–30 Summer Term (continues)
- 1–24 Summer Term (continues)
- 27–31 Summer Holiday
- 1–31 Summer Holiday
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Year 7 and Year 12 Induction Day Sep 1, 2025 Event
- Inset Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
- Autumn Term (Red/Blue Weeks) Sep 3, 2025 - Oct 24, 2025 Term
- Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 27, 2025 - Oct 31, 2025 Holiday
- Autumn Term (continues) Nov 3, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 Term
- Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term (Red/Blue Weeks) Jan 5, 2026 - Feb 13, 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 16, 2026 - Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term (continues) Feb 23, 2026 - Mar 27, 2026 Term
- Easter Holiday Mar 30, 2026 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term (Red/Blue Weeks) Apr 13, 2026 - May 22, 2026 Term
- Summer Half Term Holiday May 25, 2026 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term (continues) Jun 1, 2026 - Jul 24, 2026 Term
- Summer Holiday Jul 27, 2026 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- Half Day Dec 19, 2025 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Bristol Free School with Bristol City Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 56.3 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Bristol City Council England
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 39.46 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Bristol City Council England
Attendance 13% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Bristol City Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 97% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Bristol City Council England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 86% In education, apprenticeship or work
Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.
This school Bristol City Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Bristol Free School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Bristol Free School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.