Amersham School

Amersham School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils feel well known and cared for. Most pupils achieve well, GCSE and sixth-form outcomes are often above average, behaviour is calm and respectful, and safeguarding standards are met. The school is part of the Amersham School Trust and serves a pupil population with above-average SEN support and EHC plan rates but below-average free school meal eligibility. Leaders are ambitious and have a detailed understanding of the school. The curriculum is well designed, teaching is secure, inclusion is effective, and governance is strategic. Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, visits and careers guidance, and sixth-form students are well prepared for university or apprenticeships. Parents and staff are highly positive about the school. The main areas for improvement are writing, where support is less precisely targeted than reading support, and the achievement and attendance of disadvantaged pupils. Personal development is strong overall, but pupils' understanding of protected characteristics is less developed, which means they are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be. No area was judged below the expected standard.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel well known and cared for, and describe the school as kind.
• Behaviour is calm and settled, with respectful pupils and rare bullying that is dealt with quickly.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, and teachers have secure subject knowledge.
• Reading support is targeted and effective.
• Pupils with SEND and other vulnerable pupils are well supported to access the curriculum and thrive.
• Leadership is ambitious, understands the school well and uses effective monitoring to drive improvement.
• Governance is strategic, well trained and fulfils statutory duties, including safeguarding.
• Staff value professional learning and leaders' management of wellbeing and workload.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, visits and careers guidance, including disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
• Sixth-form students achieve well, including in BTECs, and are well prepared for university or apprenticeships.
• Parents are highly positive about the individualised care their children receive.

Areas for Improvement

• Support for writing is less developed and not as precisely targeted as reading support, including in the sixth form.
• A small number of disadvantaged pupils miss important learning through absence and do not achieve as well as they could.
• Pupils in receipt of pupil premium have historically attended less often, and closing the disadvantaged attainment and attendance gap remains a priority.
• Pupils' knowledge of protected characteristics is less developed, leaving them less well prepared for life in modern Britain than they could be.

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 Amersham School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.2% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Amersham School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Amersham School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Amersham School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.1% 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 Amersham School received £8,114 and spent £8,194 for each of its 1,066 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,713,000 (£1,607 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 Amersham · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Amersham School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Amersham School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Amersham School last inspected by Ofsted?

Amersham School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Amersham School have?

Amersham School has 1,050 pupils on roll.

What age range does Amersham School cover?

Amersham School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Amersham School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.4, and 66% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Amersham School?

Amersham School is at Stanley Hill, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP7 9HH.