Backwell School

What Backwell School does

Backwell School is a UK state-funded secondary academy located in Backwell, near Bristol, England, serving students aged 11-18 across Year 7 through Sixth Form (Years 12-13). It is a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 07662102) operating under the Lighthouse Schools Partnership Multi-Academy Trust, which sets admissions policy, governance, and shared services. The school delivers GCSE curricula at Key Stage 4 and A-Level-equivalent courses at Sixth Form, alongside enrichment programming that includes ski trips (Inspireski, Folgarida), residential activity weeks (PGL, Osmington Bay), drama productions, sport, and a broad extracurricular offer, with stated core values of Kindness, Curiosity, and Ambition.

The school's technology stack is built on commodity educational SaaS rather than proprietary platforms: Frog VLE serves as the primary Virtual Learning Environment for student learning and assignments, Microsoft 365 (Outlook) provides student email, ParentPay handles cashless catering and trip payments, Juniper Education (e4education) hosts the public website, and standard integrations include Google Analytics, Google Translate, Vimeo, and YouTube. Catering is outsourced to Aspens, and student health/wellbeing is supported by Sirona Healthcare. The headteacher is Will Penny.

The business model is non-commercial in the conventional sense: as a state-funded academy, Backwell receives per-pupil government funding via the Lighthouse Schools Partnership and charges no tuition. Revenue is augmented by ancillary cashflows — school meals (Aspens cashless catering), paid trips and enrichment activities, uniform sales, and external facility hire marketed via a dedicated bookings portal. No revenue figures are publicly disclosed. Headcount is 51-100 staff, consistent with a mid-sized UK secondary school operating at typical academy scale.

Name

Backwell School

Legal name

Backwell School

Website

https://backwellschool.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Backwell School is a UK state-funded secondary academy near Bristol, England, serving students aged 11-18 (Years 7 through Sixth Form) under the Lighthouse Schools Partnership Multi-Academy Trust, delivering GCSE and A-Level curricula with enrichment programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Backwell School is a UK state-funded secondary school and sixth form delivering full-time education to students aged 11-18 (Years 7-13). It offers a broad curriculum including GCSEs at Key Stage 4 and A-Level/equivalent courses in its Sixth Form, supported by digital learning platforms such as the Frog VLE, Microsoft 365, and ParentPay. It also runs enrichment programmes, educational trips, and hires its facilities to community groups.

Product overview

Backwell School is a secondary school offering education from Year 7 through Sixth Form (Years 12-13). The school's digital offerings include a website platform powered by Juniper Education, a Virtual Learning Environment (Frog VLE) for online learning, and the Backwell Sixth Form with a dedicated course booklet for 2026-2028. The school provides educational services, enrichment activities, trips (including ski trips and enrichment weeks), and various student support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Secondary School Education (Years 7-11)
• Sixth Form Education (Years 12-13)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBackwell School is a member of the Lighthouse Schools Partnership, a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) based in the Portishead area. LSP governs admissions policies, operates shared services, and provides organizational oversight. The school falls under LSP's privacy policy, admission policies, and corporate governance.
• Aspens CaterersminorOthersAspens Caterers provides catering services for the school, including the cashless catering system. They operate the school cafeteria and food services.
• Sirona HealthcareminorOthersSirona Healthcare provides health and wellbeing services at the school, supporting student health needs as part of the safeguarding and wellbeing provision.
• PGL (Penningtons Gethings Lawrence)minorOthersPGL provides residential activity centers for school enrichment trips. Year 9 students attend PGL's Osmington Bay location in Dorset for Enrichment Week activities including land and sea-based outdoor pursuits.
• InspireskiminorOthersInspireski organizes and operates the school's ski trip to Folgarida, providing ski instruction and travel arrangements for the annual ski trip.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Clevedon School: Clevedon School is a North Somerset state secondary school located a short distance from Backwell. It is directly comparable in scale, curriculum (GCSE and A-Level), and local catchment competition.
• Gordano School: Gordano School is a North Somerset state secondary and Sixth Form within the same Lighthouse Schools Partnership MAT as Backwell. It is the closest peer because it shares governance, funding model, curriculum, and admissions geography.
• Nailsea School: Nailsea School is a state secondary school in Nailsea, North Somerset, within a few miles of Backwell. It competes for the same local cohort of secondary-age students and offers a similar Key Stage 3–4 and Sixth Form curriculum.
• Churchill Academy & Sixth Form: Churchill Academy is a state-funded secondary and Sixth Form in Churchill, North Somerset, serving the same local catchment as Backwell. It is directly comparable as a neighbouring academy competing for the same Year 7 and Sixth Form applicants.

Regional players

• Bristol Free School: Bristol Free School is a state-funded secondary school in Bristol. It serves a comparable age range and state-funded model as Backwell but operates in a more urban Bristol catchment rather than the North Somerset semi-rural area.
• Worle School: Worle School is a secondary academy in Weston-super-Mare within the broader Bristol region. It is comparable to Backwell as a state-funded secondary serving a similar demographic profile, though located further west.
• Henbury School: Henbury School is a Bristol secondary school serving a similar age range under a comparable state-funded model. It is a regional peer because it competes in the broader Bristol-area secondary market rather than Backwell's specific North Somerset catchment.

Broad incumbents

• Bristol Grammar School: Bristol Grammar School is a long-established independent school in Bristol offering secondary and sixth form education. It competes for the same high-achieving families in the broader Bristol area as Backwell, but via a fee-paying model rather than state-funded.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/backwell_school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Backwell School