John Mason School

John Mason School has been found to have some areas of performance that may not be as strong as in the past, particularly concerning the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). While the school's leadership has been restructured to address these challenges, barriers affecting these groups are not being consistently tackled, leading to concerns about their overall academic success. The school is noted for its positive environment and strong personal development programs, but it is clear that there is a need for improvements in teaching consistency and addressing behavior effectively to enhance student outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a range of enrichment activities and take pride in their performances.
• There are positive relationships between staff and pupils, creating a caring environment.
• Personal development programs are well designed, helping students understand health and safety.
• Sixth-form students perform better than the rest of the school due to effective support.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged and those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should.
• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding leads to unresolved misconceptions.
• High suspension rates indicate issues with behavior management.
• Attendance rates, especially for disadvantaged pupils, remain persistently low.

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 John Mason School attended 86.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.3% 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, 10.4% of pupils at John Mason 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 John Mason School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 15.3% of pupils at John Mason School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% 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 John Mason School received £7,772 and spent £7,804 for each of its 995 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £542,000 (£545 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Alt Trust, income was £7,246 and spending £7,312 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 Abingdon · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

John Mason School is part of Alt Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Fitzharrys School Abingdon
• Rush Common School Abingdon
• St Michael's CofE Primary School, Steventon Village Abingdon

What is John Mason School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John Mason School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was John Mason School last inspected by Ofsted?

John Mason School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does John Mason School have?

John Mason School has 927 pupils on roll.

What age range does John Mason School cover?

John Mason School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are John Mason School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.9, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is John Mason School?

John Mason School is at Wootton Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 1JB.