Highworth Warneford School
Shrivenham Road, Highworth, Swindon, SN6 7BZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE PARK ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Sophie Hesten
- Sponsor
- Lydiard Park Academy
- Constituency
- Swindon North
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 925
- Pupils on roll
- 636
- URN
- 150277
- Local authority
- Swindon
About this school
Highworth Warneford School is a secondary academy in Swindon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 636 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Highworth Warneford School (URN 136860).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 146 | 138 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 46.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.13 -0.10 to +0.36 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50.7% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71.2% | 72.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24.7% | 19.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.8 |
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 Highworth Warneford 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 | Swindon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.7 | 37.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46 | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 652 |
| 2024/25 | 630 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Highworth Warneford School compares
Highworth Warneford School ranked 8th of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46 | 7.6% | 19.8% | 636 | — |
| Kingsdown School | 41.4 | 8.4% | 28.3% | 1,108 | 3.2 miles |
| Great Western Academy | 45.5 | 6.9% | 16.3% | 1,039 | 4.5 miles |
| The Dorcan Academy | 44.3 | 9.8% | 31.8% | 881 | 4.8 miles |
| Abbey Park School | 46.2 | 7.4% | 17.1% | 1,193 | 4.9 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic College | 38 | 8% | 20.8% | 1,425 | 4.9 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)
- 19.84%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.59%
- Persistent absence
- 21.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingsdown School3.2 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
Great Western Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
The Dorcan Academy4.8 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
Abbey Park School4.9 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
St Joseph's Catholic College4.9 miles
Secondary · Swindon
Other schools in Swindon
Highworth Warneford School ranks 10th of the 16 ranked secondary schools in Swindon.
- Abbey Park School Secondary
- Bradon Forest School Secondary
- Great Western Academy Secondary
- Kingsdown School Secondary
- Lawn Manor Academy Secondary
- Lydiard Park Academy Secondary
- Nova Hreod Academy Secondary
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Secondary
- St Joseph's Catholic College Secondary
- The Commonweal School Secondary
- The Deanery CofE Academy Secondary
- The Dorcan Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Highworth Warneford School teach?
- Highworth Warneford School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Swindon.
- Who is the headteacher of Highworth Warneford School?
- The headteacher of Highworth Warneford School is Miss Sophie Hesten, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Highworth Warneford School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highworth Warneford 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 Highworth Warneford School?
- Highworth Warneford School has 636 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Highworth Warneford School full?
- Highworth Warneford School has capacity for 925 pupils and 636 on roll (69%), 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 Highworth Warneford School a faith school?
- No. Highworth Warneford School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Highworth Warneford School?
- Highworth Warneford School is part of THE PARK ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Highworth Warneford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2023/24 and 46 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Highworth Warneford School rank locally?
- Highworth Warneford School ranked 8th of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Highworth Warneford School's absence rate?
- Highworth Warneford School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highworth Warneford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highworth Warneford 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 3 July 2026.