The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College
Newbold Road, Newbold-on-Avon, Rugby, CV21 1EH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Blake Francis
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Rugby
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,100
- Pupils on roll
- 1,096
- URN
- 125764
- Local authority
- Warwickshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01788542355
About this school
The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College is a foundation secondary school in Rugby. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,096 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 215 | 217 | 226 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.9 | 41.2 | 44.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.23 -0.43 to -0.04 | -0.28 -0.47 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 30.9% | 40.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 55.8% | 64.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 18.4% | 21.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
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 Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Warwickshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.9 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.2 | 39.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.4 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,096 |
| 2023/24 | 1,107 |
| 2024/25 | 1,114 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College compares
The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College ranked 21st of 36 secondary schools in Warwickshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.4 | 10.2% | 34.8% | 1,096 | — |
| Lawrence Sheriff School | 75.1 | 4.2% | 9.2% | 1,200 | 1.2 miles |
| Harris Church of England Academy | 42.5 | 9.7% | 38.2% | 858 | 1.5 miles |
| Rugby Free Secondary School | 43.7 | 10.2% | 29.1% | 1,168 | 1.8 miles |
| Bilton School | 43.4 | 12.7% | 30.4% | 1,127 | 1.9 miles |
| Rugby High School | 74.9 | 4.5% | 9.4% | 927 | 2.3 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)
- 34.83%
- English as an additional language
- 25%
- Overall absence
- 10.16%
- Persistent absence
- 26.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lawrence Sheriff School1.2 miles
Secondary · Rugby
-
Harris Church of England Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Rugby
-
Rugby Free Secondary School1.8 miles
Secondary · Rugby
-
Bilton School1.9 miles
Secondary · Rugby
-
Rugby High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Rugby
Other schools in Rugby
The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Rugby.
- Ashlawn School Secondary
- Bilton School Secondary
- Harris Church of England Academy Secondary
- Houlton School Secondary
- Lawrence Sheriff School Secondary
- Rugby Free Secondary School Secondary
- Rugby High School Secondary
- Abbots Farm Infant School Primary
- Abbots Farm Junior School Primary
- Barby Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bawnmore Community Infant School Primary
- Bilton CofE Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College teach?
- The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Rugby.
- Who is the headteacher of The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College?
- The headteacher of The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College is Mr Blake Francis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College, 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 The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College?
- The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College has 1,096 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College full?
- The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College has capacity for 1,100 pupils and 1,096 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College a faith school?
- No. The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College has no designated religious character.
- Is The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College a selective school?
- No. The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.9 in 2022/23 and 44.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College rank locally?
- The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College ranked 21st of 36 secondary schools in Warwickshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College's absence rate?
- The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College'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.