Bishop Wordsworth's School

Bishop Wordsworth's School is a unique school in a unique place. Our founder, Bishop John Wordsworth intended that his school should provide a centre of academic excellence in the heart of Salisbury. Since 1890 Bishop’s has fulfilled that mission and today we educate 1,176 students aged between 11 and 18 and which include approximately 130 girls in our now fully co-ed sixth form. Under the shadow of the Cathedral spire our eclectic buildings span the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries, reflecting the school’s heritage. This creates a very special atmosphere in which students are conscious, on a daily basis, of their part in a long tradition of academic endeavour.

The school has remained true to its founder’s traditions by following three basic aims:

•To encourage all our students to develop their potential to the full by setting themselves the highest standards of excellence and achievement;

•To develop in all our students the integrity and the means to face confidently the challenges of a fast changing world;

•To inspire all our students to lead happy, purposeful and responsible lives.

Bishop’s enjoys a hard earned reputation as one of the finest schools in the country. The school is well known for its traditions of excellence, its strong links with the Church of England and the Cathedral, and its sense of pride in the school community. It became an Academy School in March 2011, enhancing its reputation for independence and outstanding quality in education. 

Girls were welcomed to the Bishop’s Sixth Form from September 2020 and they now make up around 30% of the 400 Year 12 and 13 students that are on our roll. Standards are very high throughout, both in the curriculum and elsewhere and the young women and men of the sixth form provide outstanding leadership for the rest of the school.  Almost all of our students progress to the most competitive universities, with some also securing high calibre degree apprenticeship positions.

Boys take an 11+ selection test for admission to Bishop’s. Academic standards are very high and are duly recognized as such by OfSTED, DfE and the media, but excellence permeates all other areas of school life. School Sport is exceptionally strong, and the traditions in Music and Performing Arts are impressive. The school is characterised by a culture of challenging students to do their best while, at the same time, offering them the support that they need to do really well. Older students are asked to take leadership responsibilities and operate as role models and mentors for those in lower years.

We place great importance on delivering an all round education for all of our students.  Bishop’s enjoys an incomparable environment in the shadow of the highest cathedral spire in England, and many major school events take place in the Cathedral during the school year. Facilities for learning and teaching are already excellent, and further development of the school site continues.