Burford School
Cheltenham Road, Burford, OX18 4PL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BURFORD SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Albrighton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Constituency
- Witney
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,452
- URN
- 138289
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01993823303
About this school
Burford School is a secondary academy in Burford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,452 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 October 2023, 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 | 246 | 248 | 245 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.2 | 49.3 | 52.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.12 -0.08 to +0.32 | +0.21 +0.03 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 48.8% | 59.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 73.8% | 80.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 25% | 29.4% | 28.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
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 Burford 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 | 48.2 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.3 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.4 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,495 |
| 2023/24 | 1,461 |
| 2024/25 | 1,443 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Burford School compares
Burford School ranked 10th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.4 | 7.8% | 13.9% | 1,452 | — |
| Carterton Community College | 33.8 | 9.7% | 21.6% | 774 | 3.2 miles |
| The Henry Box School | 42.2 | 11.7% | 20.7% | 1,027 | 6.8 miles |
| Wood Green School | 46.2 | 9.7% | 15.2% | 1,335 | 7.3 miles |
| The Cotswold Academy | 53 | 7% | 16.2% | 1,564 | 7.7 miles |
| Farmor's School | 49.1 | 7.6% | 12.7% | 1,067 | 8.5 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.9%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.8%
- Persistent absence
- 17.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Carterton Community College3.2 miles
Secondary · Carterton
-
The Henry Box School6.8 miles
Secondary · Witney
-
Wood Green School7.3 miles
Secondary · Witney
-
The Cotswold Academy7.7 miles
Secondary · Cheltenham
-
Farmor's School8.5 miles
Secondary · Fairford
Other schools in Burford
- Burford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Burford School teach?
- Burford School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Burford.
- Who is the headteacher of Burford School?
- The headteacher of Burford School is Mr Matthew Albrighton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Burford School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Burford 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 Burford School?
- Burford School has 1,452 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Burford School full?
- Burford School has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,452 on roll (104%), 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 Burford School a faith school?
- No. Burford School has no designated religious character.
- Is Burford School a selective school?
- No. Burford School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Burford School?
- Burford School is part of BURFORD SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Burford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.2 in 2022/23 and 52.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Burford School rank locally?
- Burford School ranked 10th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Burford School's absence rate?
- Burford School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Burford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Burford 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.