John Mason School
Wootton Road, Abingdon, OX14 1JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ABINGDON LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Alastair West
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,040
- Pupils on roll
- 927
- URN
- 140580
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01235524664
About this school
John Mason School is a secondary academy in Abingdon. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 927 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Mason School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 December 2024, where inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection. 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 | 157 | 169 | 179 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.8 | 41.1 | 44.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.49 to -0.03 | -0.52 -0.74 to -0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 32.5% | 41.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 53.3% | 58.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 32.5% | 58.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.5 | 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 John Mason 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 | 45.8 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.1 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.5 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,031 |
| 2023/24 | 1,043 |
| 2024/25 | 995 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Mason School compares
John Mason School ranked 26th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.5 | 13.5% | 23.6% | 927 | — |
| Fitzharrys School | 46 | 8.5% | 10.5% | 906 | 0.4 miles |
| Larkmead School | 39.4 | 12.6% | 21.7% | 959 | 0.5 miles |
| The Oxford Academy | 33.6 | 13.7% | 52.7% | 1,062 | 4.4 miles |
| Matthew Arnold School | 56.5 | 9.2% | 12.7% | 1,255 | 4.6 miles |
| Greyfriars Catholic School | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | 5.0 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)
- 23.61%
- English as an additional language
- 15.1%
- Overall absence
- 13.52%
- Persistent absence
- 31.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fitzharrys School0.4 miles
Secondary · Abingdon
-
Larkmead School0.5 miles
Secondary · Abingdon
-
The Oxford Academy4.4 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Matthew Arnold School4.6 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Greyfriars Catholic School5.0 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Abingdon
- Fitzharrys School Secondary
- Larkmead School Secondary
- Appleton Church of England (A) Primary School Primary
- Caldecott Primary School Primary
- Carswell Community Primary School Primary
- Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary School Primary
- Drayton Community Primary School Primary
- Dry Sandford Primary School Primary
- Dunmore Primary School Primary
- John Blandy Primary School Primary
- Long Furlong Primary School Primary
- Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Mason School teach?
- John Mason School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Abingdon.
- Who is the headteacher of John Mason School?
- The headteacher of John Mason School is Mr Alastair West, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Mason School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Mason 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 John Mason School?
- John Mason School has 927 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is John Mason School full?
- John Mason School has capacity for 1,040 pupils and 927 on roll (89%), so it has space against 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 John Mason School a faith school?
- No. John Mason School has no designated religious character.
- Is John Mason School a selective school?
- No. John Mason School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is John Mason School part of an academy trust?
- John Mason School is part of ABINGDON LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Mason School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.8 in 2022/23 and 44.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Mason School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- John Mason School ranked 26th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Mason School's absence rate?
- John Mason School's overall absence rate is 13.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Mason School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Mason 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.