The Aylesbury Vale Academy

The Aylesbury Vale Academy continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in January 2019. Pupils across all ages enjoy their education, showing politeness and courtesy in line with the school's values. There is a strong emphasis on creating an inclusive environment, where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support. The school focuses on ambitious goals for its pupils, providing a curriculum that not only covers academic knowledge but also fosters cultural understanding and skills for learning, preparing them well for future educational stages.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, courteous, and enjoy their time at school.
• The curriculum effectively builds knowledge from early years through to sixth form.
• Engaging extracurricular opportunities, including guest speakers and field trips.
• Strong leadership development opportunities for sixth form students.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Clear explanations and effective teaching methods help pupils understand complex ideas.
• Strategic approach to improving attendance and managing pupil conduct.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in checking pupils' understanding in some subjects.
• Books for weaker readers sometimes do not match their reading level.

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 The Aylesbury Vale Academy attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.0% 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, 5.8% of pupils at The Aylesbury Vale Academy 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 The Aylesbury Vale Academy had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 22.2% of pupils at The Aylesbury Vale Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 2024–25 The Aylesbury Vale Academy received £7,525 and spent £7,491 for each of its 1,817 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,624,000 (£894 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Aylesbury · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Aylesbury Vale Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Aylesbury Vale Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was The Aylesbury Vale Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Aylesbury Vale Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does The Aylesbury Vale Academy have?

The Aylesbury Vale Academy has 1,857 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Aylesbury Vale Academy cover?

The Aylesbury Vale Academy for pupils aged 3 to 19.

What are The Aylesbury Vale Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.0, and 31% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are The Aylesbury Vale Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Aylesbury Vale Academy?

The Aylesbury Vale Academy is at Paradise Orchard, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0WS.