- Age range
- 11–18
- Co-ed status
- Mixed
- Number of students
- 273
- Day / boarding
- Day & boarding
- Religious affiliation
- Roman Catholic
- Average fees
- Day £28,099 · Boarding £48,392 (annual, inc. VAT)
- Has a nursery
- No
How the school describes itself
- Downside is academically serious, values-led and strongly community-focused.
- Its Catholic heritage is a visible part of how it presents the school.
- The school also emphasises depth of pastoral relationships and a broad boarding life.
Fee profile
Annual fees including VAT. 2025-26.
Year 7£23,385
Year 8£23,385
Year 9£29,985
Year 10£29,985
Year 11£29,985
Year 12£29,985
Year 13£29,985
Year 7£38,985
Year 8£38,985
Year 9£52,155
Year 10£52,155
Year 11£52,155
Year 12£52,155
Year 13£52,155
A-level results
% A*–A27%
% A*–B48%
Different A-level subjects21
Results shown for 2025.
Popular subjects
By percentage of all A-level exams taken.
Mathematics15%
Economics13%
Art10%
Biology7%
Languages7%
Physics7%
English6%
Religious studies6%
Religious Studies6%
Computing5%
Computer Studies / Computing5%
Design & technology5%
Design and Technology5%
Psychology5%
Geography4%
Chemistry3%
History3%
Drama2%
Music2%
Parents like
- It offers a much smaller scale than several Bath competitors.
- Boarding is central to the identity of the school rather than an add-on.
- Families shortlist it when they want a Bath-area option with a stronger boarding identity.
Admissions
Downside says its means-tested bursaries are available to pupils entering the school at all age levels and can also support current families whose financial circumstances change unexpectedly. The school’s bursary fund page says around one-third of pupils receive financial assistance, with awards ranging from 10% to fully funded transformational places and requiring around £2 million a year. Applications are handled in strict confidence and reviewed annually.
Scholarships
Downside offers scholarships and exhibitions at 11+, 13+ and 16+, with categories including academic, art, drama, music and sport, while bursaries are means-tested and designed to widen access where needed. As at many boarding schools, awards recognise talent, while bursaries do the heavier lifting on affordability.
Bursaries
Downside says its means-tested bursaries are available to pupils entering the school at all age levels and can also support current families whose financial circumstances change unexpectedly. The school’s bursary fund page says around one-third of pupils receive financial assistance, with awards ranging from 10% to fully funded transformational places and requiring around £2 million a year. Applications are handled in strict confidence and reviewed annually.
- Means-tested bursaries are available to pupils entering the school at all age levels and can also be awarded where a current family’s financial circumstances change unexpectedly.
- Downside says around one-third of pupils receive financial assistance, with bursary places ranging from 10% to fully funded transformational places and requiring around £2 million a year.
- Applications are handled by the Admissions Office in strict confidence. Bursaries are reviewed annually.
Inspection snapshot
Downside's current inspection picture is shaped by its May 2024 Catholic Schools Inspectorate report, which the school says judged it Outstanding in all areas, alongside more recent ISI compliance material. This provides a current external picture of a school trying to combine serious faith life with a broad boarding-school education.
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