Bishopswood School
Grove Road, Sonning Common, Reading, RG4 9RH
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE PROPELLER ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Priya Bhagrath
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Propeller Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Henley and Thame
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 72
- Pupils on roll
- 73
- URN
- 149322
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189724311
About this school
Bishopswood School is a special academy in Reading. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 73 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bishopswood 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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 6 | 7 |
| 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 Bishopswood 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70 |
| 2023/24 | 72 |
| 2024/25 | 74 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report18 November 2025
- 16 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.59%
- English as an additional language
- 29.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.36%
- Persistent absence
- 32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aurora Rowan School1.5 miles
Special schools · Reading
-
Chiltern Nursery Nurse Training School3.0 miles
Other types · Reading
-
Caversham Preparatory School3.0 miles
Independent schools · Reading
-
Queen Anne's School3.1 miles
Independent schools · Reading
-
St Mary's Preparatory3.5 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Reading
- Addington School Academies
- Aurora Rowan School Special schools
- Brookfields School Academies
- Cranbury College Academies
- Cressex Lodge School Special schools
- Groveside School Special schools
- Hamilton School Academies
- Haywards Farm School Special schools
- Riseley Green School Special schools
- Thames Valley School Free Schools
- The Avenue Special School Academies
- The Holy Brook School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Bishopswood School teach?
- Bishopswood School teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is a special school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Bishopswood School?
- The headteacher of Bishopswood School is Mrs Priya Bhagrath, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bishopswood School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bishopswood 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 Bishopswood School?
- Bishopswood School has 73 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is Bishopswood School full?
- Bishopswood School has capacity for 72 pupils and 73 on roll (101%), 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 Bishopswood School a faith school?
- No. Bishopswood School has no designated religious character.
- Is Bishopswood School part of an academy trust?
- Bishopswood School is part of THE PROPELLER 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 Bishopswood School have?
- The schools register lists Bishopswood School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Bishopswood School's absence rate?
- Bishopswood School's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bishopswood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bishopswood 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.