Cheney School

Cheney School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2018. The school has built a vibrant and inclusive culture, supported by strong, respectful relationships among pupils and staff. Parents and carers express high satisfaction with the caring ethos and the school's ambitious academic and personal development goals. While most students are enthusiastic learners who make successful transitions to further education or training, there are challenges regarding attendance and the consistency of curriculum delivery impacting some pupils' achievements.

Strengths

• Strong, collective subject knowledge among curriculum teams.
• Broad and inclusive curriculum that promotes personal development.
• High standards of behavior and respectful relationships.
• Effective support for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) students.
• Commitment to improving attendance and reducing absence.
• Rich personal development and strong careers education programs.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance of some pupils is not high enough, impacting their learning.
• Inconsistencies in curriculum delivery affect some pupils' achievement.

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 Cheney School attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.0% 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, 7.9% of pupils at Cheney 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 Cheney School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.6% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Cheney School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 Cheney School received £8,076 and spent £7,968 for each of its 1,707 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,592,000 (£933 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of River Learning Trust, income was £8,007 and spending £7,763 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 Oxford · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Cheney School is part of River Learning Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Larkrise Primary School Oxford
• New Marston Primary School Oxford
• Barton Park Primary School Oxford
• Bayards Hill School Oxford
• The Swan School Oxford
• Rose Hill Primary School Oxford
• Sandhills Community Primary School Oxford
• The Oxford Academy Oxford
• The Cherwell School Oxford
• Horspath Church of England Primary School Oxford

What is Cheney School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cheney School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Cheney School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cheney School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Cheney School have?

Cheney School has 1,706 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cheney School cover?

Cheney School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Cheney School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.0, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cheney School?

Cheney School is at Cheney Lane, Headington, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 7QH.