Magdalen College School

Magdalen College School is a single-academy trust secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18. Following its April 2025 inspection, the school was judged inadequate for the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management, while personal development and sixth-form provision require improvement. Safeguarding arrangements are not effective, and the school has been placed in special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education and leaders and governors are not demonstrating the capacity to secure improvement. The previous inspection grade was good, and the headteacher was appointed in September 2023. There are some positive foundations. The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum and has identified the key knowledge and vocabulary pupils should learn. Sixth-form students generally benefit from a well-delivered curriculum and achieve well in public examinations. Most pupils feel safe and know an adult they can talk to, and most conduct themselves well during unstructured times. The school also has a clear personal development programme, useful careers education and accurately identifies pupils’ additional needs, including providing extra reading help for some pupils. However, in key stages 3 and 4, expectations are too low and the curriculum is not delivered effectively. Staff do not routinely check pupils’ understanding, gaps in learning remain unresolved, writing and literacy support are inconsistent, and teaching is not well adapted for pupils with SEND. Pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve well, especially at the end of key stage 4. Behaviour in lessons is too often poor, with low-level disruption, lateness and truancy, and pupils frequently hear discriminatory language but lack confidence that it will be dealt with. Site access and safety are not managed effectively, oversight of alternative provision and part-time timetables is weak, and leaders and those responsible for governance do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s weaknesses, leaving some staff feeling unsupported.

Strengths

• The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum with key knowledge and vocabulary identified.
• Sixth-form staff typically deliver the curriculum well, and most students achieve well in public examinations.
• Most pupils feel safe in school and know there is an adult they can talk to.
• Most pupils conduct themselves well during unstructured times.
• The school accurately identifies pupils’ additional needs and provides extra reading help for some pupils.
• A clear personal development programme covers online safety, healthy lifestyles and understanding different religions.
• Careers education prepares pupils and sixth-form students well for their next steps.
• Staff are well trained to report safeguarding concerns, and the school works well with external agencies to support pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve well, especially at the end of key stage 4.
• Expectations of what pupils can achieve and how they should behave are too low.
• The curriculum is not implemented effectively in key stages 3 and 4, and staff do not check pupils’ understanding well enough.
• Literacy and writing support are inconsistent, and pupils are not routinely held to account for punctuation and spelling.
• Teaching is not routinely adapted for pupils with SEND, so these pupils do not achieve as well as they should.
• Behaviour in lessons is too often poor, with low-level disruption and inconsistent expectations.
• Staff do not feel adequately supported to manage poor behaviour and many have lost confidence in the school’s approach.
• Truancy and lateness to lessons are too high, and the attendance of disadvantaged pupils is too low.
• Pupils frequently hear discriminatory and derogatory language and do not report it because they lack confidence the school will act.
• Site access and egress are not managed effectively, pupils can access unsafe areas, and pupils are sometimes left unsupervised.
• Oversight of alternative provision and part-time timetables is weak, including checks on adults and ensuring meaningful qualifications.
• Leaders and those responsible for governance do not accurately understand the school’s weaknesses and have been slow to address them.
• The personal development programme is not implemented consistently, so pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values and equality is not strong.
• In some sixth-form subjects, students lack appropriate resources and are taught by staff without the necessary subject expertise.
• HMCI strongly recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers.

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 Magdalen College School attended 90.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.4% 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, 5.1% of pupils at Magdalen College 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 Magdalen College School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.2% 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, 30.9% of pupils at Magdalen College School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% 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 Magdalen College School received £7,059 and spent £7,075 for each of its 1,358 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £876,000 (£645 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.

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What is Magdalen College School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Magdalen College School is Inadequate, from an inspection in December 2025.

When was Magdalen College School last inspected by Ofsted?

Magdalen College School was last inspected in December 2025.

How many pupils does Magdalen College School have?

Magdalen College School has 1,293 pupils on roll.

What age range does Magdalen College School cover?

Magdalen College School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Magdalen College School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.2, and 41% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Magdalen College School?

Magdalen College School is at Waynflete Avenue, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 6FB.