Dashwood Banbury Academy
Merton Street, Banbury, OX16 4RX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Gordon-Weeks
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Aspirations Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Banbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 466
- Pupils on roll
- 456
- URN
- 138501
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01295263240
About this school
Dashwood Banbury Academy is a primary academy in Banbury. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 456 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dashwood Banbury Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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 7 June 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 56 | 44 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 82% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 18% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 91% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 89% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 77% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dashwood Banbury Academy 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 | 61% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 82% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 439 |
| 2023/24 | 458 |
| 2024/25 | 466 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dashwood Banbury Academy compares
Dashwood Banbury Academy ranked 91st of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 6.7% | 22.6% | 456 | — |
| St Leonard's Church of England Primary School | 44% | 6.3% | 27.1% | 336 | 0.2 miles |
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Banbury | 47% | 7% | 28.6% | 226 | 0.7 miles |
| St John's Catholic Primary School | 43% | 4.4% | 9.7% | 216 | 0.8 miles |
| Harriers Banbury Academy | 60% | 5.2% | 22.5% | 408 | 0.9 miles |
| The Grange Community Primary School | 89% | 4% | 13.7% | 310 | 0.9 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)
- 22.55%
- English as an additional language
- 37.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.73%
- Persistent absence
- 21.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Leonard's Church of England Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Banbury
-
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Banbury0.7 miles
Primary · Banbury
-
St John's Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Banbury
-
Harriers Banbury Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Banbury
-
The Grange Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Banbury
Other schools in Banbury
Dashwood Banbury Academy ranks 13th of the 32 ranked primary schools in Banbury.
- Bishop Carpenter Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bishop Loveday Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bloxham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brailes Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy Primary
- Cherry Fields Primary School Primary
- Chipping Warden Primary Academy Primary
- Christopher Rawlins Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cropredy Church of England Primary School Primary
- Culworth Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Deddington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Greatworth Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dashwood Banbury Academy teach?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Banbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Dashwood Banbury Academy?
- The headteacher of Dashwood Banbury Academy is Mrs Sarah Gordon-Weeks, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dashwood Banbury Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dashwood Banbury Academy, 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 Dashwood Banbury Academy?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy has 456 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Dashwood Banbury Academy full?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy has capacity for 466 pupils and 456 on roll (98%), 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 Dashwood Banbury Academy a faith school?
- No. Dashwood Banbury Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Dashwood Banbury Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dashwood Banbury Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Dashwood Banbury Academy part of an academy trust?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy is part of ASPIRATIONS ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dashwood Banbury Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dashwood Banbury Academy compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy ranked 91st of 228 primary schools in Oxfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dashwood Banbury Academy's absence rate?
- Dashwood Banbury Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dashwood Banbury Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dashwood Banbury Academy'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.