Larkmead School
Faringdon Road, Abingdon, OX14 1RF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CAMBRIAN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Dennett
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Faringdon Academy of Schools
- Constituency
- Oxford West and Abingdon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,060
- Pupils on roll
- 959
- URN
- 143890
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01235520141
About this school
Larkmead School is a secondary academy in Abingdon. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 959 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 March 2024, 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 | 146 | 161 | 144 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.6 | 44.1 | 39.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.17 -0.40 to +0.07 | +0.02 -0.21 to +0.24 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 40.4% | 34.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 53.4% | 54.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 27.3% | 23.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
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 Larkmead 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 | 45.6 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.1 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.4 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 866 |
| 2023/24 | 917 |
| 2024/25 | 940 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Larkmead School compares
Larkmead School ranked 34th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.4 | 12.6% | 21.7% | 959 | — |
| John Mason School | 44.5 | 13.5% | 23.6% | 927 | 0.5 miles |
| Fitzharrys School | 46 | 8.5% | 10.5% | 906 | 0.8 miles |
| Matthew Arnold School | 56.5 | 9.2% | 12.7% | 1,255 | 4.6 miles |
| The Oxford Academy | 33.6 | 13.7% | 52.7% | 1,062 | 4.8 miles |
| Aureus School | 33.7 | 13.4% | 33.8% | 531 | 5.1 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)
- 21.74%
- English as an additional language
- 10.4%
- Overall absence
- 12.59%
- Persistent absence
- 31.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
John Mason School0.5 miles
Secondary · Abingdon
-
Fitzharrys School0.8 miles
Secondary · Abingdon
-
Matthew Arnold School4.6 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Oxford Academy4.8 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Aureus School5.1 miles
Secondary · Didcot
Other schools in Abingdon
- Fitzharrys School Secondary
- John Mason 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 year groups does Larkmead School teach?
- Larkmead School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Abingdon.
- Who is the headteacher of Larkmead School?
- The headteacher of Larkmead School is Mr Jonathan Dennett, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Larkmead School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Larkmead 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 big is Larkmead School?
- Larkmead School has 959 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Larkmead School full?
- Larkmead School has capacity for 1,060 pupils and 959 on roll (90%), 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 Larkmead School a faith school?
- No. Larkmead School has no designated religious character.
- Is Larkmead School a selective school?
- No. Larkmead School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Larkmead School?
- Larkmead School is part of CAMBRIAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Larkmead School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.6 in 2022/23 and 39.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Larkmead School rank locally?
- Larkmead School ranked 34th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Larkmead School's absence rate?
- Larkmead School's overall absence rate is 12.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Larkmead School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Larkmead 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 10 July 2026.