Ash Manor School

Ash Manor School is a larger-than-average secondary school that has continued to expand and was inspected in September 2026. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found very strong provision in achievement and in curriculum and teaching: pupils achieve well in national tests and GCSEs, disadvantaged pupils' English and maths outcomes are above national averages, and a bespoke curriculum and highly skilled teaching help pupils build and remember knowledge. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other barriers receive individualised support, and pupils behave very well and feel safe and happy. Other areas are solid but have room to improve. Attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are all at the expected standard. The Bridge and wider pastoral support are particular strengths, as are student leadership, clubs, drama, the cadet force and careers education. However, some vulnerable pupils, including a small number of disadvantaged pupils, do not attend as frequently as they should, which remains a barrier to achievement. The personal development curriculum also needs to become consistently impactful so that all pupils can recall and apply their learning about British values, faiths and cultures. The school should further develop support for the most vulnerable pupils to attend frequently and ensure the personal development curriculum has a consistently strong impact on pupils' lives in and out of school.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very well in national tests and GCSEs, with strong progress overall.
• Individualised support helps pupils with SEND, looked-after children, young carers and others achieve as well as their peers.
• A bespoke, well-planned curriculum builds pupils' knowledge and skills steadily over time.
• Highly skilled teachers regularly check understanding and close knowledge gaps.
• Reading, oracy and writing are prioritised, with targeted catch-up support.
• Pupils behave very well, are attentive and respectful, and respond to clear high expectations.
• The Bridge and wider pastoral arrangements provide effective, trusted support for vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders, governors and the local authority have an accurate understanding of the school and a clear improvement focus.
• Staff training, development and workload management are well considered and staff feel valued.
• Personal development includes strong careers education, clubs, student leadership, the cadet force and drama.
• Pupils feel safe, happy and confident that bullying or discrimination would be dealt with swiftly.
• Disadvantaged pupils' GCSE outcomes in English and maths are above national averages.

Areas for Improvement

• Some vulnerable pupils, including a small number of disadvantaged pupils, attend less frequently than they should.
• Attendance support for the most vulnerable pupils needs further development to reduce barriers to achievement.
• The personal development curriculum is not yet consistently impactful in helping all pupils recall and apply learning about British values, faiths and cultures.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ash Manor School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 13.2% of pupils at Ash Manor School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ash Manor School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.3% of pupils at Ash Manor School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Ash Manor School received £7,725 and spent £7,740 for each of its 1,253 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £865,000 (£691 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Ash Manor School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ash Manor School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Ash Manor School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ash Manor School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Ash Manor School have?

Ash Manor School has 1,252 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ash Manor School cover?

Ash Manor School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ash Manor School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.8, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ash Manor School?

Ash Manor School is at Manor Road, Ash, Surrey, GU12 6QH.