Princes Risborough School
Merton Road, Princes Risborough, HP27 0DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- INSIGNIS ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Vincent Forshaw
- Sponsor
- Insignis Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Mid Buckinghamshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,030
- Pupils on roll
- 1,083
- URN
- 146377
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01844345496
About this school
Princes Risborough School is a secondary academy in Princes Risborough. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,083 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 165 | 166 | 156 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.6 | 40.1 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.07 -0.30 to +0.15 | -0.08 -0.31 to +0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 33.7% | 28.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 56% | 51.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 9% | 9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
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 Princes Risborough 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 | Buckinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.6 | 47.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.1 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 46.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,019 |
| 2023/24 | 1,111 |
| 2024/25 | 1,100 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Princes Risborough School compares
Princes Risborough School ranked 28th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% 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 | 40.3 | 12.4% | 19.5% | 1,083 | — |
| John Colet School | 47.6 | 8.8% | 15.6% | 1,014 | 5.0 miles |
| The Misbourne School | 50.8 | 9.3% | 12.7% | 1,115 | 5.5 miles |
| The Mandeville School | 38.9 | 12% | 27.7% | 966 | 5.5 miles |
| The Grange School | 40.4 | 9.7% | 24.4% | 1,418 | 6.3 miles |
| Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | 73.2 | 5% | 7.3% | 1,353 | 6.5 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.54%
- English as an additional language
- 13.7%
- Overall absence
- 12.43%
- Persistent absence
- 32.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
John Colet School5.0 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
The Misbourne School5.5 miles
Secondary · Great Missenden
-
The Mandeville School5.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
The Grange School6.3 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
-
Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School6.5 miles
Secondary · Aylesbury
Other schools in Princes Risborough
- Longwick Church of England Combined School Primary
- Monks Risborough CofE Primary School Primary
- Princes Risborough Primary School Primary
- Speen CofE VA School Primary
- St John's Church of England Primary School, Lacey Green Primary
- Red Kite School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Princes Risborough School teach?
- Princes Risborough School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Princes Risborough.
- Who is the headteacher of Princes Risborough School?
- The headteacher of Princes Risborough School is Mr Vincent Forshaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Princes Risborough School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Princes Risborough 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 Princes Risborough School?
- Princes Risborough School has 1,083 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Princes Risborough School full?
- Princes Risborough School has capacity for 1,030 pupils and 1,083 on roll (105%), 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 Princes Risborough School a faith school?
- No. Princes Risborough School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Princes Risborough School?
- Princes Risborough School is part of INSIGNIS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Princes Risborough School have?
- The schools register lists Princes Risborough School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Princes Risborough School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.6 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Princes Risborough School rank locally?
- Princes Risborough School ranked 28th of 36 secondary schools in Buckinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% 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 Princes Risborough School's absence rate?
- Princes Risborough School's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Princes Risborough School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Princes Risborough 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.