Cheney School
Cheney Lane, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7QH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- RIVER LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Rob Pavey
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- River Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Oxford East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,615
- Pupils on roll
- 1,706
- URN
- 139146
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01865765726
About this school
Cheney School is a secondary academy in Oxford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,706 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cheney 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 21 September 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 | 270 | 270 | 282 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.2 | 46.9 | 46.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.13 -0.05 to +0.31 | +0.19 +0.01 to +0.36 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 48.1% | 48.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 63.7% | 62.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 44% | 41.1% | 30.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
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 Cheney 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 | 46.9 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,694 |
| 2023/24 | 1,679 |
| 2024/25 | 1,704 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cheney School compares
Cheney School ranked 23rd of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46 | 10.8% | 27% | 1,706 | — |
| Oxford Spires Academy | 46.3 | 10.2% | 28.1% | 1,351 | 0.7 miles |
| Greyfriars Catholic School | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | 1.1 miles |
| The Swan School | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | 1.5 miles |
| The Oxford Academy | 33.6 | 13.7% | 52.7% | 1,062 | 2.1 miles |
| The Cherwell School | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | 2.2 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)
- 26.97%
- English as an additional language
- 33.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.82%
- Persistent absence
- 28.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oxford Spires Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Greyfriars Catholic School1.1 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Swan School1.5 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Oxford Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Cherwell School2.2 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Oxford
Cheney School ranks 6th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Oxford.
- Greyfriars Catholic School Secondary
- Matthew Arnold School Secondary
- Oxford Spires Academy Secondary
- The Cherwell School 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 ages does Cheney School teach?
- Cheney School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Oxford.
- Who is the headteacher of Cheney School?
- The headteacher of Cheney School is Mr Rob Pavey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cheney School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cheney 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 Cheney School?
- Cheney School has 1,706 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cheney School full?
- Cheney School has capacity for 1,615 pupils and 1,706 on roll (106%), 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 Cheney School a faith school?
- No. Cheney School has no designated religious character.
- Is Cheney School a selective school?
- No. Cheney School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Cheney School part of an academy trust?
- Cheney 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.
- How have Cheney School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.2 in 2022/23 and 46 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cheney School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Cheney School ranked 23rd of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cheney School's absence rate?
- Cheney School's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cheney School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cheney 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.