The Aylesbury Vale Academy
Paradise Orchard, Aylesbury, HP18 0WS
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE AYLESBURY VALE ACADEMY
- Executive Principal
- Gavin Gibson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Oxford
- Constituency
- Mid Buckinghamshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,440
- Pupils on roll
- 1,857
- URN
- 135879
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01296428551
About this school
The Aylesbury Vale Academy is a Church of England all-through academy in Aylesbury. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 1,857 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 9 May 2024, 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 | 92 | 61 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 74% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 8% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 80% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 85% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 77% | 82% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 236 | 236 | 237 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.9 | 41.3 | 39.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.22 +0.03 to +0.41 | +0.07 -0.11 to +0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 31.4% | 25.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 56.8% | 49.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 6% | 19.1% | 28.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
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 Aylesbury Vale Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 59.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 61.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.9 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.3 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.8 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,814 |
| 2023/24 | 1,816 |
| 2024/25 | 1,831 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Aylesbury Vale Academy compares
The Aylesbury Vale Academy ranked 29th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 38% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.8 | 8.6% | 25.1% | 1,857 | — |
| Green Ridge Primary Academy | — | 3.9% | 12% | 660 | 0.5 miles |
| Thomas Hickman School | — | 6.6% | 36.5% | 500 | 0.8 miles |
| The Pace Centre | — | — | 0% | 39 | 1.2 miles |
| The Buckinghamshire Primary Pupil Referral Unit | — | — | 100% | 6 | 1.3 miles |
| Buckingham Park Church of England Primary School | — | 5.1% | 24.8% | 447 | 1.4 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)
- 25.12%
- English as an additional language
- 20.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.62%
- Persistent absence
- 24.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Green Ridge Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
Thomas Hickman School0.8 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
-
The Pace Centre1.2 miles
Special schools · Aylesbury
-
The Buckinghamshire Primary Pupil Referral Unit1.3 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Aylesbury
-
Buckingham Park Church of England Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Aylesbury
Other schools in Aylesbury
The Aylesbury Vale Academy ranks 12th of the 34 ranked primary schools in Aylesbury, and The Aylesbury Vale Academy ranks 8th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Aylesbury.
- Ashmead Combined School Primary
- Aston Clinton School Primary
- Bearbrook Combined School Primary
- Bedgrove Infant School Primary
- Bedgrove Junior School Primary
- Bierton Church of England Combined School Primary
- Brill Church of England School Primary
- Broughton Community Schools (Infants) Primary
- Broughton Junior School Primary
- Buckingham Park Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cuddington and Dinton CofE School Primary
- Elmhurst School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Aylesbury Vale Academy teach?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is an all-through school in Aylesbury.
- Who is the executive principal of The Aylesbury Vale Academy?
- The executive principal of The Aylesbury Vale Academy is Gavin Gibson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Aylesbury Vale Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Aylesbury Vale Academy, 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 Aylesbury Vale Academy?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy has 1,857 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is The Aylesbury Vale Academy full?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy has capacity for 1,440 pupils and 1,857 on roll (129%), 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 Aylesbury Vale Academy a faith school?
- Yes. The Aylesbury Vale Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Is The Aylesbury Vale Academy a selective school?
- No. The Aylesbury Vale Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does The Aylesbury Vale Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Aylesbury Vale Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Aylesbury Vale Academy?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy is part of THE AYLESBURY VALE ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Aylesbury Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 73% 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 Aylesbury Vale Academy rank locally?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy ranked 29th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 38% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% 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 Aylesbury Vale Academy's absence rate?
- The Aylesbury Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Aylesbury Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Aylesbury Vale Academy'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 1 July 2026.