The Matthew Arnold School

The Matthew Arnold School continues to maintain its status as a good school, benefiting from strong leadership under the new headteacher and the Bourne Education Trust. Positive relationships among pupils and staff create a nurturing environment that fosters learning, where pupils feel safe and respected. The school emphasizes a balanced curriculum and has made significant strides in raising expectations for behavior and learning, resulting in improved student engagement and attendance. However, with changes to the curriculum, there are areas needing refinement in terms of curriculum planning and teacher instruction strategies.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and vision from the new headteacher.
• A nurturing environment with positive relationships between pupils and staff.
• An ambitious and well-organized curriculum that promotes literacy across subjects.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs, including those in the West Molesey Centre.
• A positive approach to personal development and careers guidance for students.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum planning still in development, particularly in identifying detailed knowledge expectations.
• Inconsistencies in lesson activities leading to potential gaps in pupil understanding.

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 Matthew Arnold School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.2% 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, 8.0% of pupils at The Matthew Arnold School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 Matthew Arnold School had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 32.5% 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, 12.4% of pupils at The Matthew Arnold School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.7% 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 Matthew Arnold School received £7,969 and spent £7,033 for each of its 961 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,066,000 (£1,109 per pupil).

Across all 27 schools of Bourne Education Trust, income was £8,217 and spending £7,648 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 Spelthorne · Surrey local authority: places and applications

The Matthew Arnold School is part of Bourne Education Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Pyrcroft Grange Primary School Chertsey
• Chertsey High School Addlestone
• Philip Southcote School Addlestone
• Jubilee High School Addlestone
• Hopescourt School Walton-On-Thames
• Sayes Court School Addlestone
• Hampton High Hampton
• Twickenham School Twickenham
• Broadmere Primary Academy Woking
• New Monument Primary Academy Woking

What is The Matthew Arnold School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Matthew Arnold School is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was The Matthew Arnold School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Matthew Arnold School was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does The Matthew Arnold School have?

The Matthew Arnold School has 947 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Matthew Arnold School cover?

The Matthew Arnold School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Matthew Arnold School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.8, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Matthew Arnold School?

The Matthew Arnold School is at Kingston Road, Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, TW18 1PF.