The Forest School

The Forest School is performing well overall, with overall effectiveness judged strong standard. Safeguarding standards are met. The school has recently changed from a single-sex boys' school to a mixed school, and this transition has been managed successfully; girls have settled well. Pupils are happy, feel safe, attend regularly and behave well. Personal development and wellbeing is a strong standard. Pupils benefit from a very broad enrichment offer, strong careers guidance and effective support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance all meet expected standards. Pupils typically achieve well at GCSE, behaviour is positive, attendance is above national averages, and leaders and trustees have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. The main concern is post-16 provision, which needs attention. Sixth-form students, especially those on A-level pathways, have historically underachieved, and teaching quality is not yet consistent across all subjects. Leaders have begun to improve pathway matching and teaching, and early impact is visible, but this work is not yet embedded. Reading catch-up support also needs further refinement. The next steps are to embed post-16 improvements and ensure consistently high-quality teaching across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing is a strong standard.
• Pupils receive a very broad and rich set of enrichment opportunities, especially in sport and the performing arts.
• Pupils show maturity and respect for inclusivity, differences and fundamental British values.
• Careers advice is thorough, helpful and tailored, including for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils typically achieve well and develop secure foundations in reading, writing, oracy and mathematics.
• Attendance is strong, with overall and persistent absence below national averages.
• Pupils behave well, relationships are positive and respectful, and bullying is rare.
• The curriculum is well sequenced, ambitious and taught by knowledgeable staff.
• SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported and make positive progress from their starting points.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with trustees holding leaders to account.
• Staff feel valued and benefit from effective professional development.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe.
• The transition from a single-sex boys' school to a mixed school has been managed successfully.

Areas for Improvement

• Post-16 provision needs attention because sixth-form students, particularly on A-level pathways, have historically underachieved.
• Teaching quality in the sixth form is inconsistent across subjects and is not yet embedded.
• Some pupils who need additional reading support do not catch up as quickly as they could.
• Improvements to post-16 provision and consistent high-quality teaching across the curriculum still need to be fully embedded.

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 Forest School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at The Forest 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 The Forest School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% 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, 19.8% of pupils at The Forest School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.6% 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 The Forest School received £8,191 and spent £6,347 for each of its 929 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,621,000 (£1,745 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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• Secondary Schools

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What is The Forest School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Forest School is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Forest School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Forest School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Forest School have?

The Forest School has 1,042 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Forest School cover?

The Forest School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Forest School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.9, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Forest School?

The Forest School is at Robin Hood Lane, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 5NE.