The Beacon School
Picquets Way, Banstead, SM7 1AG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- GLF SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mr James Grant Duff
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- GLF Schools
- Constituency
- Reigate
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 959
- URN
- 137735
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01737359103
About this school
The Beacon School is a secondary academy in Banstead. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 959 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Beacon School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 231 | 231 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.6 | 46.4 | 45.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.07 -0.26 to +0.12 | -0.14 -0.32 to +0.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 52.8% | 51.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 68.8% | 72.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 28.6% | 49.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Beacon 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 | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.6 | 38.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.4 | 39.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.1 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,226 |
| 2023/24 | 1,135 |
| 2024/25 | 1,022 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Beacon School compares
The Beacon School ranked 38th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.1 | 8.9% | 16.4% | 959 | — |
| Harris Academy Sutton | 58.2 | 5% | 18.1% | 1,294 | 2.4 miles |
| Glyn School | 56 | 5.4% | 8.5% | 1,723 | 2.6 miles |
| Overton Grange School | 46.8 | 9% | 28.9% | 1,092 | 2.7 miles |
| Nonsuch High School for Girls | 80.5 | 4.3% | 7% | 1,494 | 2.8 miles |
| Rosebery School | 63.5 | 5.9% | 6.8% | 1,514 | 2.8 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)
- 16.44%
- English as an additional language
- 5.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.88%
- Persistent absence
- 22.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harris Academy Sutton2.4 miles
Secondary · Sutton
-
Glyn School2.6 miles
Secondary · Epsom
-
Overton Grange School2.7 miles
Secondary · Sutton
-
Nonsuch High School for Girls2.8 miles
Secondary · Sutton
-
Rosebery School2.8 miles
Secondary · Epsom
Other schools in Banstead
- Banstead Community Junior School Primary
- Banstead Infant School and Nursery Primary
- St Anne's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Warren Mead Infant School Primary
- Warren Mead Junior School Primary
- Woodmansterne Primary School Primary
- Banstead Preparatory School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Beacon School teach?
- The Beacon School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Banstead.
- Who is the headteacher of The Beacon School?
- The headteacher of The Beacon School is Mr James Grant Duff, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Beacon School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Beacon 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 many pupils are at The Beacon School?
- The Beacon School has 959 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Beacon School full?
- The Beacon School has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 959 on roll (71%), 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 The Beacon School a faith school?
- No. The Beacon School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Beacon School a selective school?
- No. The Beacon School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Beacon School part of an academy trust?
- The Beacon School is part of GLF SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Beacon School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.6 in 2022/23 and 45.1 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 Beacon School compare with other schools in Surrey?
- The Beacon School ranked 38th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% 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 Beacon School's absence rate?
- The Beacon School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Beacon School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Beacon 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.