The Swan School
Marston Ferry Road, Oxford, OX2 7WP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- RIVER LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Kay Wood
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- River Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Oxford East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Pupils on roll
- 1,057
- URN
- 147203
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01865416070
About this school
The Swan School is a secondary academy in Oxford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,057 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Swan 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
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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 122 | 120 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.7 | 55.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.55 +0.28 to +0.82 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66.4% | 68.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 80% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 82.8% | 87.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.5 | 5.4 |
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 The Swan 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 | — | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.7 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.4 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 667 |
| 2023/24 | 862 |
| 2024/25 | 952 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Swan School compares
The Swan School ranked 7th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | — |
| The Cherwell School | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | 0.8 miles |
| Cheney School | 46 | 10.8% | 27% | 1,706 | 1.5 miles |
| Oxford Spires Academy | 46.3 | 10.2% | 28.1% | 1,351 | 2.2 miles |
| Greyfriars Catholic School | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | 2.4 miles |
| Matthew Arnold School | 56.5 | 9.2% | 12.7% | 1,255 | 3.3 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)
- 21.75%
- English as an additional language
- 31%
- Overall absence
- 7.23%
- Persistent absence
- 20.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Cherwell School0.8 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Cheney School1.5 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Oxford Spires Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Greyfriars Catholic School2.4 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Matthew Arnold School3.3 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Oxford
The Swan School ranks 3rd of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Oxford.
- Cheney School Secondary
- Greyfriars Catholic School Secondary
- Matthew Arnold School Secondary
- Oxford Spires Academy Secondary
- The Cherwell School Secondary
- The Oxford Academy 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 The Swan School teach?
- The Swan School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Oxford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Swan School?
- The headteacher of The Swan School is Ms Kay Wood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Swan School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Swan 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 The Swan School?
- The Swan School has 1,057 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Swan School full?
- The Swan School has capacity for 1,260 pupils and 1,057 on roll (84%), 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 The Swan School a faith school?
- No. The Swan School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Swan School a selective school?
- No. The Swan School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Swan School part of an academy trust?
- The Swan School is part of RIVER LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Swan School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.7 in 2023/24 and 55.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Swan School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- The Swan School ranked 7th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Swan School's absence rate?
- The Swan School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Swan School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Swan 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.