South Wilts Grammar School

About us

We are an 11 to 18 grammar school, which opened in 1927. Entry for Years 7 to 11 is through selection using the 11+ assessment. The school has been a standalone academy since January 2011, and from September 2020 it became co-educational in the sixth form. There are currently 1130 students on roll, including 340 in the sixth form. Our catchment includes the City of Salisbury and its wider geographical area. The school is a five-form entry school with a PAN of 160. The school is oversubscribed both for entry into Year 7 and the sixth form. The school was judged to be good overall, with behaviour and attitudes being rated as Outstanding by OfSTED in October 2019. They found the school to be thriving, with pupils proud of the school and pupils’ eagerness to learn made a significant contribution to the success of the school.

Vision and Values

Our School Vision embodies our determination to prepare our young people to be the best they can be and to empower them to live highly successful and fulfilling lives. We will enable all students to achieve success in their education and future lives and will support, sustain and strengthen their physical and mental wellbeing. We will skilfully promote growth in students’ academic learning competencies and their personal resilience. By preparing them for life’s opportunities and challenges we will enable them to servetheir communities positively, in their own unique way.

Achievement

South Wilts Grammar school is a high performing school. 69.11% of 2023 grades at GCSE were awarded grades 7 to 9, with 46.31% graded 8 or 9; 30% were grade 9. 96.2% of A Level grades were awarded A* to B; 10% were at A* and 32* were at A* to A.

Attainment 8 was 7. A full profile of the examination results can be viewed on the school website. 64.27% of students achieved five grades 5 to 9 including English and mathematics.

Value added is positive at GCSE; the estimated Progress 8 score for 2023 is 0.61. A high proportion of students go on to study at a Russell Group university.

At South Wilts, the focus is not only on academic excellence but also on enabling students to become independent and resilient learners. Ensuring that all students are supported in their needs is a priority, whether those needs relate to wellbeing, special educational needs, health or disability or other barriers in their lives. South Wilts is a happy and supportive environment where students and staff care about one another.

Our Staff

The school’s most important resource is its staff, both teaching and support staff, and we believe that the measure of a school’s success must be that all staff feel respected and cared for. We also try to ensure that staff have a good work life balance adhering to the advice provided in the workforce reform, such as a ‘rarely cover’ policy for teachers. There are good CPD opportunities for all staff and excellent support for ECTs. We maintain strong relations with major teaching unions, including the Senior Leadership Team holding regular meetings with staff union representatives.

South Wilts Grammar School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment. As part of our shortlisting process, all shortlisted candidates will be subject to an online search as part of our due diligence. Appointment to this post will also be subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks.

Our school’s prospectus, school policies and detailed examination results are available on the school’s website www.swgs.wilts.sch.uk