John Masefield High School
Mabel's Furlong, Ledbury, HR8 2HF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- JOHN MASEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE
- Headteacher
- Dr John Holmes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North Herefordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 930
- Pupils on roll
- 849
- URN
- 136803
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01531631012
About this school
John Masefield High School is a secondary academy in Ledbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 849 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 30 November 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 139 | 151 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 44.9 | 46.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.49 -0.72 to -0.25 | -0.35 -0.58 to -0.11 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 46.4% | 38.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 64.2% | 69.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 62% | 63.6% | 82.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
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 John Masefield High 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 | Herefordshire, County of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.5 | 39.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.9 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.2 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 893 |
| 2023/24 | 884 |
| 2024/25 | 841 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Masefield High School compares
John Masefield High School ranked 8th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.2 | 8.1% | 19.8% | 849 | — |
| The Chase | 51.9 | 8.6% | 18.1% | 1,449 | 6.9 miles |
| Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre | 41.5 | 9.7% | 23.2% | 976 | 7.3 miles |
| Dyson Perrins CofE Academy | 43.8 | 11% | 36.4% | 592 | 8.1 miles |
| Hanley Castle High School | 47.8 | 8.8% | 16.2% | 1,142 | 8.6 miles |
| John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre Academy | 47.7 | 7.3% | 18% | 1,274 | 9.9 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)
- 19.76%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.12%
- Persistent absence
- 22.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Chase6.9 miles
Secondary · Malvern
-
Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre7.3 miles
Secondary · Newent
-
Dyson Perrins CofE Academy8.1 miles
Secondary · Malvern
-
Hanley Castle High School8.6 miles
Secondary · Worcester
-
John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre Academy9.9 miles
Secondary · Ross-on-Wye
Other schools in Ledbury
- Ashperton Primary Academy Primary
- Bosbury CofE Primary School Primary
- Bromesberrow St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eastnor Parochial Primary School Primary
- Ledbury Primary School Primary
- Much Marcle CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does John Masefield High School teach?
- John Masefield High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ledbury.
- Who is the headteacher of John Masefield High School?
- The headteacher of John Masefield High School is Dr John Holmes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was John Masefield High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Masefield High 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 John Masefield High School?
- John Masefield High School has 849 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is John Masefield High School full?
- John Masefield High School has capacity for 930 pupils and 849 on roll (91%), 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 John Masefield High School a faith school?
- No. John Masefield High School has no designated religious character.
- Is John Masefield High School a selective school?
- No. John Masefield High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs John Masefield High School?
- John Masefield High School is part of JOHN MASEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Masefield High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 46.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Masefield High School rank locally?
- John Masefield High School ranked 8th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Masefield High School's absence rate?
- John Masefield High School's overall absence rate is 8.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Masefield High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Masefield High 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 1 July 2026.