Valley Road School
Valley Road, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Tim Coulson
- Constituency
- Henley and Thame
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 165
- URN
- 123041
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01491573784
About this school
Valley Road School is a community primary school in Henley-on-Thames. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 165 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 March 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 72% | 80% | 94% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 17% | 23% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 83% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 90% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 73% | 94% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 112.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 111.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Valley Road 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 72% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 94% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 178 |
| 2023/24 | 171 |
| 2024/25 | 165 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Valley Road School compares
Valley Road School ranked 4th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 94% | 2.8% | 6.7% | 165 | — |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames | 56% | 6.9% | 22.9% | 108 | 0.5 miles |
| Trinity Church of England Primary School | 64% | 3.5% | 3% | 301 | 0.7 miles |
| Badgemore Primary School | 75% | 4.9% | 21.9% | 124 | 0.8 miles |
| Shiplake Church of England School | 86% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 154 | 2.1 miles |
| Peppard Church of England Primary School | 80% | 5.7% | 10% | 61 | 2.5 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)
- 6.67%
- English as an additional language
- 10.3%
- Overall absence
- 2.81%
- Persistent absence
- 1.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames0.5 miles
Primary · Henley-on-Thames
-
Trinity Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Henley-on-Thames
-
Badgemore Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Henley-on-Thames
-
Shiplake Church of England School2.1 miles
Primary · Henley-on-Thames
-
Peppard Church of England Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · Henley-on-Thames
Other schools in Henley-on-Thames
Valley Road School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Henley-on-Thames.
- Badgemore Primary School Primary
- Frieth Church of England Combined School Primary
- Nettlebed Community School Primary
- Peppard Church of England Primary School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames Primary
- Shiplake Church of England School Primary
- Trinity Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gillotts School Secondary
- The Henley College 16 plus
- Rupert House School Independent schools
- Shiplake College Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Valley Road School teach?
- Valley Road School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Henley-on-Thames.
- Who is the headteacher of Valley Road School?
- The headteacher of Valley Road School is Mr Tim Coulson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Valley Road School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Valley Road School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Valley Road School?
- Valley Road School has 165 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Valley Road School full?
- Valley Road School has capacity for 210 pupils and 165 on roll (79%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Valley Road School a faith school?
- No. Valley Road School has no designated religious character.
- Does Valley Road School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Valley Road School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Valley Road School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 72% in 2022/23 and 94% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Valley Road School rank locally?
- Valley Road School ranked 4th of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Valley Road School's absence rate?
- Valley Road School's overall absence rate is 2.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Valley Road School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Valley Road 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 30 June 2026.