Gordon's School

Gordon’s School is performing exceptionally well. Inspectors found outstanding provision across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains highly ambitious for all pupils. Pupils are proud of their school, behave responsibly and with focus, and achieve highly through a broad, ambitious curriculum taught by expert staff. The school has a strong reading culture and identifies and supports pupils with SEND well. Personal development and character education are particular strengths. Pupils benefit from extensive co-curricular opportunities, trips, leadership responsibilities and a comprehensive careers programme. Sixth-form students excel, with ambitious courses, strong study skills and clear post-18 plans. Safeguarding is effective, governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge, and staff value the consideration given to their well-being. The report identifies only a limited area for further improvement: sharpening how the school makes changes to the SEND register when additional support is no longer required, and ensuring those changes have a sustained impact. Since September 2024, schools inspected under section 5 are not awarded an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Outstanding quality of education across all subjects
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with precisely sequenced knowledge
• Expert teachers who explain complex ideas clearly and check understanding effectively
• Pupils with SEND are clearly identified and taught well
• Strong culture of reading with targeted support for pupils who struggle
• Exemplary pupil behaviour and conduct across the school
• Exceptional character development and personal development for all pupils
• Extensive co-curricular opportunities, trips and leadership responsibilities
• Sixth-form students excel and are well prepared for post-18 choices
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong support and challenge from governors and trustees
• Staff well-being is considered and staff enjoy working at the school

Areas for Improvement

• Sharpening how the school makes changes to the SEND register when additional support is no longer required, and ensuring those changes have sustained impact

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 Gordon's School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 8.6% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Gordon's School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Gordon's School had 13.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.4% 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, 5.5% of pupils at Gordon's School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Gordon's School received £11,000 and spent £10,460 for each of its 981 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £44,000 (£45 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 Woking · Surrey local authority: places and applications

What is Gordon's School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gordon's School is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Gordon's School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gordon's School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Gordon's School have?

Gordon's School has 988 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gordon's School cover?

Gordon's School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Gordon's School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 64.8, and 80% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Gordon's School?

Gordon's School is at Bagshot Road, West End, Woking, Surrey, GU24 9PT.