The Cherwell School
Marston Ferry Road, Oxford, OX2 7EE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- RIVER LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Price
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- River Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,850
- Pupils on roll
- 2,023
- URN
- 137970
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01865558719
About this school
The Cherwell School is a secondary academy in Oxford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 2,023 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 283 | 284 | 269 |
| Attainment 8 score | 59.2 | 58.4 | 58.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.95 +0.78 to +1.12 | +0.88 +0.71 to +1.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 68% | 64.8% | 66.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 79.2% | 79.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 48% | 48.2% | 50.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
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 Cherwell 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59.2 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 58.4 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.3 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,007 |
| 2023/24 | 2,013 |
| 2024/25 | 2,008 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Cherwell School compares
The Cherwell School ranked 3rd of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | — |
| The Swan School | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | 0.8 miles |
| Cheney School | 46 | 10.8% | 27% | 1,706 | 2.2 miles |
| Oxford Spires Academy | 46.3 | 10.2% | 28.1% | 1,351 | 2.8 miles |
| Gosford Hill School | 45.3 | 10.7% | 22.2% | 825 | 2.9 miles |
| Greyfriars Catholic School | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | 2.9 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)
- 18.55%
- English as an additional language
- 25.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.22%
- Persistent absence
- 19.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Swan School0.8 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Cheney School2.2 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Oxford Spires Academy2.8 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Gosford Hill School2.9 miles
Secondary · Kidlington
-
Greyfriars Catholic School2.9 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Oxford
The Cherwell School ranks 1st of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Oxford.
- Cheney School Secondary
- Greyfriars Catholic School Secondary
- Matthew Arnold School Secondary
- Oxford Spires Academy Secondary
- The Oxford Academy Secondary
- The Swan School Secondary
- Wheatley Park School Secondary
- Comper Nursery School Nursery
- Grandpont Nursery School Nursery
- Headington Quarry Nursery School Nursery
- Slade Nursery School Nursery
- Wheatley Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does The Cherwell School teach?
- The Cherwell School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Oxford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Cherwell School?
- The headteacher of The Cherwell School is Mr Chris Price, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Cherwell School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Cherwell 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 The Cherwell School?
- The Cherwell School has 2,023 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Cherwell School full?
- The Cherwell School has capacity for 1,850 pupils and 2,023 on roll (109%), 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 Cherwell School a faith school?
- No. The Cherwell School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Cherwell School a selective school?
- No. The Cherwell School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Cherwell School?
- The Cherwell School is part of RIVER LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Cherwell School have?
- The schools register lists The Cherwell School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Cherwell School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 59.2 in 2022/23 and 58.3 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 Cherwell School rank locally?
- The Cherwell School ranked 3rd of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% 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 Cherwell School's absence rate?
- The Cherwell School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Cherwell School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Cherwell 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.