Waddesdon Church of England School
Baker Street, Waddesdon, Aylesbury, HP18 0LQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- WADDESDON CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Abbott
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Constituency
- Mid Buckinghamshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,022
- Pupils on roll
- 1,012
- URN
- 137355
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01296651382
About this school
Waddesdon Church of England School is a Church of England secondary academy in Aylesbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,012 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 136 | 140 | 145 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.8 | 50.9 | 51.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.78 +0.54 to +1.02 | +0.51 +0.27 to +0.75 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 55% | 46.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 84% | 78.6% | 80.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 29.3% | 35.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.4 | 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 Waddesdon Church of England 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 | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.8 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.9 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,002 |
| 2023/24 | 1,007 |
| 2024/25 | 1,015 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waddesdon Church of England School compares
Waddesdon Church of England School ranked 14th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51 | 6.6% | 11.9% | 1,012 | — |
| Aylesbury UTC | 23.8 | 26.6% | 42.5% | 128 | 4.5 miles |
| Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | 73.2 | 5% | 7.3% | 1,353 | 4.6 miles |
| The Mandeville School | 38.9 | 12% | 27.7% | 966 | 5.5 miles |
| Aylesbury Grammar School | 74.5 | 6.5% | 6.1% | 1,346 | 5.5 miles |
| Aylesbury High School | 74.3 | 5.5% | 6% | 1,368 | 5.5 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report10 February 2026
- 7 December 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.88%
- English as an additional language
- 11%
- Overall absence
- 6.64%
- Persistent absence
- 17.26%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aylesbury UTC4.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School4.6 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
The Mandeville School5.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
Aylesbury Grammar School5.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
Aylesbury High School5.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
Other schools in Aylesbury
Waddesdon Church of England School ranks 4th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Aylesbury.
- Aylesbury Grammar School Secondary
- Aylesbury High School Secondary
- Aylesbury UTC Secondary
- John Colet School Secondary
- Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School Secondary
- The Cottesloe School Secondary
- The Grange School Secondary
- The Kingsbrook School Secondary
- The Mandeville School Secondary
- Ashmead Combined School Primary
- Aston Clinton School Primary
- Bearbrook Combined School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Waddesdon Church of England School teach?
- Waddesdon Church of England School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Aylesbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Waddesdon Church of England School?
- The headteacher of Waddesdon Church of England School is Mr Matthew Abbott, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Waddesdon Church of England School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waddesdon Church of England 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 Waddesdon Church of England School?
- Waddesdon Church of England School has 1,012 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Waddesdon Church of England School full?
- Waddesdon Church of England School has capacity for 1,022 pupils and 1,012 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Waddesdon Church of England School a faith school?
- Yes. Waddesdon Church of England School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Is Waddesdon Church of England School a selective school?
- No. Waddesdon Church of England School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Waddesdon Church of England School?
- Waddesdon Church of England School is part of WADDESDON CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Waddesdon Church of England School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.8 in 2022/23 and 51 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waddesdon Church of England School rank locally?
- Waddesdon Church of England School ranked 14th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waddesdon Church of England School's absence rate?
- Waddesdon Church of England School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waddesdon Church of England School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waddesdon Church of England 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.