St Joseph's Catholic SchoolBishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Salisbury.
Summary of the comparison
St Joseph's Catholic School and Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School are secondary schools in Salisbury.
St Joseph's Catholic School scores 48 out of 100 (grade D, below average) and Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School scores 83 out of 100 (grade B, strong). Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School is ahead on our composite score.
St Joseph's Catholic School was judged the expected standard and Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School was judged Outstanding.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 41.0 for St Joseph's Catholic School and 73.5 for Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has held broadly level at St Joseph's Catholic School (42.0 in 2021-22, 41.0 in 2025-26) and has fallen at Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School (76.0 in 2021-22, 73.5 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | SalisburySt Joseph's Catholic School | SalisburyBishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | D48/100 | B83/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 25th of 27 in Wiltshire | 1st of 27 in Wiltshire Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Expected | Ofsted: OutstandingStronger figure | |
| School type | Voluntary aided school | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-16 | 11-18 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Boys | |
| Pupils on roll | 565 | 1,193 | |
| Capacity | 625 | 1,200 | |
| Location | Salisbury, SP1 1QY | Salisbury, SP1 2ED | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 41.0 | 73.5 Stronger figure | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 32.5% | 98.1% Stronger figure | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 64.9% | 100.0% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 114 | 158 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | Not reported | 196 | |
| A-level average points | Not reported | 43.6 | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | Not reported | B+ | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | Not reported | 43.5 | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | Not reported | 32.8% | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 597 | 1,188 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 25.1% | 5.2% | |
| English as an additional language | 20.8% | 8.7% | |
| SEN support | 22.6% | 0.9% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 4.5% | 0.3% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 7.3% | 4.7% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 19.0% | 13.9% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
St Joseph's Catholic School
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School
Full profiles: St Joseph's Catholic School · Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School