Matthew Arnold School
Arnolds Way, Oxford, OX2 9JE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ACER TRUST
- Headteacher
- Anthony Broadley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Acer Trust
- Constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,220
- Pupils on roll
- 1,255
- URN
- 142104
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01865862232
About this school
Matthew Arnold School is a secondary academy in Oxford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,255 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Matthew Arnold 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 205 | 210 | 207 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.9 | 50.1 | 56.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.13 to +0.28 | +0.18 -0.02 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 53.8% | 65.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 74.3% | 83.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 44% | 37.1% | 53.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.5 | 5.3 |
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 Matthew Arnold 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 | 50.9 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.1 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 56.5 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,314 |
| 2023/24 | 1,285 |
| 2024/25 | 1,250 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Matthew Arnold School compares
Matthew Arnold School ranked 6th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56.5 | 9.2% | 12.7% | 1,255 | — |
| The Cherwell School | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | 3.0 miles |
| Greyfriars Catholic School | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | 3.3 miles |
| The Swan School | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | 3.3 miles |
| Cheney School | 46 | 10.8% | 27% | 1,706 | 3.5 miles |
| Oxford Spires Academy | 46.3 | 10.2% | 28.1% | 1,351 | 3.5 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 12.66%
- English as an additional language
- 16.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.18%
- Persistent absence
- 22.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Cherwell School3.0 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Greyfriars Catholic School3.3 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Swan School3.3 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Cheney School3.5 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Oxford Spires Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Oxford
Matthew Arnold School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Oxford.
- Cheney School Secondary
- Greyfriars Catholic 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 Matthew Arnold School teach?
- Matthew Arnold School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Oxford.
- Who is the headteacher of Matthew Arnold School?
- The headteacher of Matthew Arnold School is Anthony Broadley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Matthew Arnold School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Matthew Arnold 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 Matthew Arnold School?
- Matthew Arnold School has 1,255 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Matthew Arnold School full?
- Matthew Arnold School has capacity for 1,220 pupils and 1,255 on roll (103%), 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 Matthew Arnold School a faith school?
- No. Matthew Arnold School has no designated religious character.
- Is Matthew Arnold School a selective school?
- No. Matthew Arnold School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Matthew Arnold School part of an academy trust?
- Matthew Arnold School is part of ACER TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Matthew Arnold School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.9 in 2022/23 and 56.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Matthew Arnold School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Matthew Arnold School ranked 6th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 89% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Matthew Arnold School's absence rate?
- Matthew Arnold School's overall absence rate is 9.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Matthew Arnold School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Matthew Arnold 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 2 July 2026.