Whitstone is a mixed secondary academy in Shepton Mallet, Somerset Council, teaching 545 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in April 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 40.5 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 1 September 2025 to 21 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Whitstone.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
S5 Inspection · Inspected 26 Apr 2022 · Published 15 Jun 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Whitstone.

Whitstone term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–30 Autumn Term (Term 1)
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–24 Autumn Term (Term 1)
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 3–30 Autumn Term (Term 2)
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–19 Autumn Term (Term 2)
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day Bank Holiday
  • 26 Boxing Day Bank Holiday
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–2 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day Bank Holiday
  • 5–31 Spring Term (Term 3)
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 1–13 Spring Term (Term 3)
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
  • 23–28 Spring Term (Term 4)
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Spring Term (Term 4)
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–2 Spring Term (Term 4)
  • 3–17 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday
  • 6 Easter Monday
  • 20–30 Summer Term (Term 5)
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–22 Summer Term (Term 5)
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–30 Summer Term (Term 6)
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–21 Summer Term (Term 6)
  • 22–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Autumn Term (Term 1) Sep 1, 2025 - Oct 24, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 27, 2025 - Oct 31, 2025 Holiday
  • Autumn Term (Term 2) Nov 3, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term (Term 3) Jan 5, 2026 - Feb 13, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 16, 2026 - Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term (Term 4) Feb 23, 2026 - Apr 2, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Apr 3, 2026 - Apr 17, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term (Term 5) Apr 20, 2026 - May 22, 2026 Term
  • Summer Half Term Holiday May 25, 2026 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term (Term 6) Jun 1, 2026 - Jul 21, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 22, 2026 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day Bank Holiday Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day Bank Holiday Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day Bank Holiday Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
40.5 Attainment 8 England 46.1
35.1% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
27.4% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Whitstone with Somerset Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 40.5 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Somerset Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 40.5
Somerset Council 43.5 England 46.1 -5.6 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 35.1%
Somerset Council 40.3% England 45.4% -10.3 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 33.4
Somerset Council 30.5 England 34.9 -1.5 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 8.9
Somerset Council 16.5 England 15.5 -6.6 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 19.8%
Somerset Council 21.4% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 111
Attendance 27.4% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Somerset Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 27.4%
Somerset Council 18.4% England 17.8% +9.6 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 10%
Somerset Council 7.3% England 6.8% +3.3 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 92% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Somerset Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 92%
Somerset Council 92% England 92% in line with England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 92%
Somerset Council 84% England 83% +9 vs 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 Whitstone. 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 catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Whitstone 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.