Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) is one of the most popular schools in South Gloucestershire and it consistently attracts significantly more 1st-preference applications for Year 7 entry than there are places available.

Hence the perennial question we hear around this time of year as parents are making secondary school applications for their offspring: How close do you have to live to BSCS to have a realistic chance of getting in?

In a typical year, around 40 percent of successful entrants are allocated a place without consideration of how far they live from the school because they are in one of the prioritised categories that include: children with special educational needs, looked-after children and siblings of children already at the school.

Once places have been allocated to the prioritised cases, proximity to the school comes into play for the remaining applicants, based on home-to-school distances. Within this process, distances are all measured to three decimal points in a straight line between the address point of the child’s main residence and the address point of the school, using the council’s mapping software, to ensure consistency for all applicants.

It should be added that a second geographical factor, namely residence within the school’s ‘consortium area of responsibility’ (roughly comprising of the Stokes, Filton and Patchway) can theoretically come into play during the process. However, since BSCS opened in 2005, no places at the school have been allocated in any entry year to applicants living outside the consortium area.

As can be seen from the table below, applicants not satisfying the criteria for one of the prioritised categories have typically needed to live within two-thirds of a mile of the school to qualify for a place at BSCS.

Above: Map showing catchment area in a typical year. [Click to enlarge; view larger version (DropBox)]

Disclaimer: Past years’ statistics may not be a reliable guide to the actual outcomes in future years, due to changes in demographics and other factors. The description given above is a simplification; please consult the admissions brochure for definitive information.

Related link: Secondary school admissions (SGC)

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 27). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH (except August), to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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Students at Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) are celebrating another exceptional set of GCSE results, with 16 percent of all grades awarded being at the highest possible grade 9 level and 26 percent at grade 7 or above.

The school reports that this year’s results set a new ‘best ever’ standard, in terms of both progress and attainment.

A number of subject areas have performed exceptionally well this year, with an impressive 82 percent of students achieving a grade 4 or above in both English and maths. English results continue to be a particular strength, with 93 percent of students achieving a grade 4 or above. Maths and science departments continue to thrive; with an impressive 87 percent of students in science and 84 percent in maths achieving a grade 4 or above.

BSCS headteacher Steve Moir commented:

“We are all incredibly proud of our students’ achievements and that their immense hard work has paid off to produce another brilliant year of results.”

“There are so many success stories, not just from the individuals in the spotlight for achieving the top grades, but for every young person who has surpassed their own personal targets and made remarkable progress.”

“This success is also the result of the dedication and commitment from our amazing staff, as well as the parents and families of our young people who do so much to help and support.”

Olympus Academy Trust chief executive officer Dave Baker added:

“BSCS has produced another strong set of results to continue the trend of high achievement from the students. I would like to congratulate the students but also thank the staff as this would not be possible without them being willing to go the extra mile for their students, especially in the context of incredibly challenging budgets.”

More: Some of the outstanding individual performances »

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Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) students are celebrating another outstanding set of Post-16 results, with 32 percent of all grades awarded being at A*-A and 62 percent A*-B.

Students have made more progress between their GCSE and Post-16 results than ever before, says the school.

As always, there are some outstanding individual performances, including:

• Emma Draper who achieved 1A* (art) and 2As (history & psychology) who is taking a gap year next year.
• Jess Lomax who achieved 2A*s (politics & sociology) and 1B (English literature) and is leaving to study politics at the London School of Economics.
• Lauren Hicks who achieved 1A* (EPQ), 2As (chemistry & maths) and 1B (biology) and is going to study medicine at the University of Nottingham.
• Ryan Edwards who achieved 1A* (biology) and 2As (maths & physics) and will be at the University of Exeter studying civil engineering.
• Danielle Fear who achieved 1A* (sociology) and 2As (history and psychology) who is taking a gap year before applying for a psychology in education course at Bristol University.
• Olivia Gibbs who achieved 1A* (psychology), 1A (biology) and 1B (chemistry) and is off to Cardiff University to study diagnostic radiography.
• Priya Mistry who achieved 3As (biology, chemistry & maths) who will be studying pharmacy at Cardiff University.
• Jessica Pham who achieved 3As (business studies, chemistry and psychology) who is going to the University of Warwick to study international management.
• Sim Ashford who achieved 1Dist* (music technology), 1A (maths) and 1B (physics) who is travelling to Australia as part of a gap year next year.

More: Average grade per entry up from a C grade to a B grade »

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By Sharon Clark, headteacher at BSCS Primary Phase.

On Wednesday 12th June, local pre-schoolers and their families were invited to a come on a bear hunt! The rain kindly stopped for long enough for us to hold our Teddy Bears’ Picnic in Savages Wood.

The picnic had a ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ theme with children creating their own ‘Bear Hunt’ books, listening to the story (whilst learning some Makaton signs to help retell it) and exploring a bear hunt trail around the woods. Tesco kindly donated biscuits and squash so we could share a snack with the children.

The picnic was organised by pre-school and Reception teachers from Bradley Stoke and the surrounding areas, working in partnership with the South Gloucestershire Early Years Team, and is part of a bigger project focusing on transition from pre-school into reception. The project has gained sponsorship from a number of companies: Andrews Estate Agents, The Willow Brook Centre and Taylor-Wimpey; all of which have donated funds that have enabled us to buy sets of books and produce a leaflet of nursery rhymes to share with children.

The children in the pre-schools working on the project will be sharing the stories and rhymes over the next term (We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Gingerbread Man, The Little Red Hen, The Three Billy Goats Gruff and Max the Brave) and their Reception teachers will also have a pack of the same books to share with them when they join their new schools in September. The aim is to encourage language development through the learning of the rhymes and stories and support the transition for children as they will hear stories and rhymes they are familiar with when they start in their new classes.

More: Look out for your invitation to the 2020 event! »

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