The Cotswold Academy
Academy converter in Cheltenham, GL54 2BD, taking ages 11 to 18, 1,564 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 13.26 miles Gloucestershire published for 2024/25, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In 2024/25, the furthest child offered a place lived 13.26 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Gloucestershire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 13.26 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2024/25.
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When The Cotswold Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside it; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
One published year so far: 2024/25, from Gloucestershire. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Gloucestershire, published admission distances, 2024/25
Two schools, both in reach
Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Gloucestershire, 140 of 543 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (25.8%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to The Cotswold Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School | Primary | No limit 2024/25 | 0.1 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 1,564 pupils in 1,530 places (102% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | THE COTSWOLD SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST |
| Local authority | Gloucestershire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Attainment 8 | 53.0 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.49 |
| 2022/23 | +0.67 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to The Cotswold Academy
| Girls and boys | 50.5% girls, 49.5% boys |
| English as an additional language | 3.8% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 13.4% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where The Cotswold Academy's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 59.5% |
| Sixth-form college | 12.7% |
| Further education college | 14.1% |
| Apprenticeship | 2.4% |
| Employment | 5.4% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 1.5% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
What it costs to live within reach of The Cotswold Academy
Cheapest district inside the 13.26 miles: OX18, median £325,000. Dearest: GL55, £665,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| OX18 | West Oxfordshire | 11.2 mi | £325,000 70 sales |
| GL56 | Cotswold | 7.3 mi | £330,000 88 sales |
| CV36 | Stratford-on-Avon | 13.1 mi | £375,000 122 sales |
| GL52 | Cheltenham | 13.0 mi | £402,000 123 sales |
| WR12 | Wychavon | 11.5 mi | £460,000 73 sales |
| GL53 | Cheltenham | 13.2 mi | £570,000 89 sales |
| GL55 | Cotswold | 12.1 mi | £665,000 24 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 13.26 miles the school admitted from in 2024/25, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to The Cotswold Academy by bus
Best-served stop: Moore Hospital, 0.1 mi away, with 3.2 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:20, last 21:15.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cotswold Academy | 136 yd | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 801, 802, 855, 803, C68 |
| The Cotswold Academy | 138 yd | 3.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 801, 802, 855, 803, C68 |
| Moore Hospital | 0.1 mi | 3.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 801, 802, 855, 803, C68 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing The Cotswold Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around GL54: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at GL54 2BD, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for The Cotswold Academy?
The Cotswold Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2024/25 lived 13.26 miles away, per Gloucestershire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at The Cotswold Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 13.26 miles was enough in 2024/25, and at 102% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near The Cotswold Academy guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Gloucestershire school's distance
All Gloucestershire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put The Cotswold Academy's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Gloucestershire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.