The Marlborough Church of England School
Shipton Road, Woodstock, OX20 1LP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- RIVER LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Principal Andrew Hanlon
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Oxford
- Sponsor
- River Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,138
- Pupils on roll
- 1,088
- URN
- 138817
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01993811431
About this school
The Marlborough Church of England School is a Church of England secondary academy in Woodstock. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,088 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Marlborough Church of England School, 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 12 July 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 173 | 178 | 179 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.5 | 52.4 | 55.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.32 +0.10 to +0.53 | +0.30 +0.09 to +0.51 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 64% | 58.4% | 62.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 77% | 79.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 25.8% | 30.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
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 Marlborough 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 | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.5 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.4 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.4 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,072 |
| 2023/24 | 1,084 |
| 2024/25 | 1,085 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Marlborough Church of England School compares
The Marlborough Church of England School ranked 8th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% 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 | 55.4 | 8.8% | 13.5% | 1,088 | — |
| Gosford Hill School | 45.3 | 10.7% | 22.2% | 825 | 3.5 miles |
| Bartholomew School | 57 | 8.6% | 11.8% | 1,390 | 4.9 miles |
| The Cherwell School | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | 6.2 miles |
| Wood Green School | 46.2 | 9.7% | 15.2% | 1,335 | 6.8 miles |
| The Swan School | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | 6.9 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)
- 13.48%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 8.81%
- Persistent absence
- 22.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gosford Hill School3.5 miles
Secondary · Kidlington
-
Bartholomew School4.9 miles
Secondary · Witney
-
The Cherwell School6.2 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Wood Green School6.8 miles
Secondary · Witney
-
The Swan School6.9 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Woodstock
Common questions
- What ages does The Marlborough Church of England School teach?
- The Marlborough Church of England School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Woodstock.
- Who is the principal of The Marlborough Church of England School?
- The principal of The Marlborough Church of England School is Principal Andrew Hanlon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Marlborough Church of England School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Marlborough 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 many pupils are at The Marlborough Church of England School?
- The Marlborough Church of England School has 1,088 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Marlborough Church of England School full?
- The Marlborough Church of England School has capacity for 1,138 pupils and 1,088 on roll (96%), 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 The Marlborough Church of England School a faith school?
- Yes. The Marlborough Church of England School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Oxford.
- Is The Marlborough Church of England School a selective school?
- No. The Marlborough Church of England School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Marlborough Church of England School part of an academy trust?
- The Marlborough Church of England 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 Marlborough Church of England School have?
- The schools register lists The Marlborough Church of England School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Marlborough Church of England School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.5 in 2022/23 and 55.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Marlborough Church of England School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- The Marlborough Church of England School ranked 8th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% 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 Marlborough Church of England School's absence rate?
- The Marlborough Church of England School's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Marlborough Church of England School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Marlborough 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.