The Downs School
Manor Crescent, Compton, Newbury, RG20 6AD
This school is closed (it closed in March 2026).
It was replaced by The Downs School. That page has the school's current information.
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Prosser
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Reading West and Mid Berkshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,307
- Pupils on roll
- 1,434
- URN
- 110102
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
About this school
The Downs School was a foundation secondary school in Newbury. It taught children aged 11 to 18 and had 1,434 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
The Downs School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 203 | 206 | 206 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.1 | 52.6 | 53.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.78 +0.58 to +0.98 | +0.32 +0.13 to +0.52 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 68% | 57.3% | 54.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 78.2% | 77.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 55% | 70.9% | 72.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Downs School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.1 | 41 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.6 | 40.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.4 | 38.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,363 |
| 2023/24 | 1,405 |
| 2024/25 | 1,437 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Downs School compares
Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.4 | 7% | 10.8% | 1,434 | — |
| The Downs School | — | — | — | — | 0.0 miles |
| St Birinus School | 48.2 | 8.9% | 16.8% | 1,237 | 6.1 miles |
| UTC Oxfordshire | 32.5 | 14.9% | 29.8% | 316 | 6.3 miles |
| Aureus School | 33.7 | 13.4% | 33.8% | 531 | 6.4 miles |
| Didcot Girls' School | 58.8 | 7.5% | 13.2% | 1,633 | 6.5 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.83%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.01%
- Persistent absence
- 15.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Downs School0.0 miles
Secondary · Newbury
-
St Birinus School6.1 miles
Secondary · Didcot
-
UTC Oxfordshire6.3 miles
Secondary · Didcot
-
Aureus School6.4 miles
Secondary · Didcot
-
Didcot Girls' School6.5 miles
Secondary · Didcot
Other schools in Newbury
- Park House School Secondary
- St Bartholomew's School Secondary
- The Clere School Secondary
- The Downs School Secondary
- Trinity School Secondary
- Victoria Park Nursery School Nursery
- Beedon C.E. (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Brightwalton C.E. Aided Primary School Primary
- Burghclere Primary School Primary
- Chaddleworth St Andrew's C.E. Primary School Primary
- Chieveley Primary School Primary
- Compton C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Downs School teach?
- The Downs School taught children aged 11 to 18. It was a secondary school in Newbury.
- Has The Downs School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected The Downs School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How many pupils are at The Downs School?
- The Downs School had 1,434 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- How have The Downs School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.1 in 2022/23 and 53.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are The Downs School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Downs School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.