Bardwell School
Hendon Place, Sunderland Drive, Bicester, OX26 4RZ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE GALLERY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne McGill
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Gallery Trust
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 95
- Pupils on roll
- 121
- URN
- 146683
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01869242182
About this school
Bardwell School is a special academy in Bicester. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bardwell 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 10 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - |
| Reading progress | -6.30 | - |
| Writing progress | -6.10 | - |
| Maths progress | -6.00 | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Bardwell 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 | 0% | 58.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 106 |
| 2023/24 | 113 |
| 2024/25 | 118 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.3%
- English as an additional language
- 11.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.64%
- Persistent absence
- 27.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bruern Abbey School2.4 miles
Independent schools · Bicester
-
Beachborough School7.6 miles
Independent schools · Brackley
-
Woodeaton Manor School8.2 miles
Academies · Oxford
-
Ashfold School8.3 miles
Independent schools · Aylesbury
-
Winchester House School8.3 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Bicester
- Brookside Primary School Primary
- Bure Park Primary School Primary
- Chesterton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dr Radcliffe's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Five Acres Primary School Primary
- Fringford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Fritwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gagle Brook Primary School Primary
- Glory Farm Primary School Primary
- King's Meadow Primary School Primary
- Langford Village Community Primary School Primary
- Launton Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bardwell School teach?
- Bardwell School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Bicester.
- Who is the headteacher of Bardwell School?
- The headteacher of Bardwell School is Mrs Joanne McGill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bardwell School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bardwell 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 Bardwell School?
- Bardwell School has 121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Bardwell School full?
- Bardwell School has capacity for 95 pupils and 121 on roll (127%), 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 Bardwell School a faith school?
- No. Bardwell School has no designated religious character.
- Is Bardwell School part of an academy trust?
- Bardwell School is part of THE GALLERY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Bardwell School have?
- The schools register lists Bardwell School's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bardwell School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bardwell School's absence rate?
- Bardwell School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bardwell School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bardwell 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.