Aureus School

Aureus School has improved markedly since its previous inspection. Leaders and staff share high ambitions, academic standards have risen, and pupils feel safe and well supported. Classrooms are typically calm and purposeful, behaviour routines are well established, and pupils benefit from a rich programme of personal development and extracurricular activity. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school context is significant: it is a below-average-sized secondary academy in the GLF Schools trust, with high pupil mobility, above-average proportions of pupils with SEND and pupils who speak English as an additional language, and more than a third of pupils eligible for the pupil premium. Leaders understand the school's strengths and weaknesses and are working closely with the trust to drive improvement. There are still areas to address. Pupils are not consistently given enough opportunities to connect and apply their learning, including through extended writing and independent work, which limits the standards they achieve. Some pupils eligible for the pupil premium attend less often and achieve less well than their peers, and support for this group is less defined than support for pupils with SEND. Suspensions remain high, although they are reducing, and behaviour outside lessons is occasionally less respectful.

Strengths

• Leaders and staff share high ambitions and clear expectations for pupils.
• Academic standards have risen, particularly for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils feel safe and trust staff to support their learning and emotional needs.
• Classrooms are typically calm and purposeful with well-rehearsed routines.
• Support for pupils with SEND is extensive and precise.
• Reading support for pupils who are not yet fluent is timely and effective.
• Pupils benefit from a rich range of extracurricular experiences with high participation.
• Personal, social, health education is meticulously planned and responsive to pupils' needs.
• Careers information and university and apprenticeship opportunities help raise pupils' aspirations.
• The school diligently checks that alternative provision arrangements are safe and suitable.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders work closely with trust colleagues to address improvement priorities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to connect and demonstrate their learning.
• Pupils do not make connections between what they know as readily as they could, limiting achievement.
• Some pupils eligible for the pupil premium do not attend school often enough.
• Some pupil premium pupils do not achieve as well as their peers, and support for them is less defined.
• Suspensions remain high, although they have reduced.
• Behaviour outside lessons is occasionally less respectful.

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 Aureus School attended 86.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.5% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Aureus 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 Aureus School had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.1% 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, 19.0% of pupils at Aureus School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.1% 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 Aureus School received £10,194 and spent £10,595 for each of its 485 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £432,000 (£891 per pupil).

Across all 42 schools of Glf Schools, income was £7,514 and spending £7,514 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 Didcot · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Aureus School is part of Glf Schools, which runs 43 schools. The nearest others:

• Aureus Primary School Didcot
• Manor Primary School Didcot
• Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre Reading
• Wheatfield Primary School and Nursery Winnersh
• Windmill Primary School and Nursery Wokingham
• Floreat Montague Park Primary School and Nursery Wokingham
• Frogmore Junior School Camberley
• Lorraine Infant School & Nursery Camberley
• Cordwalles Junior School Camberley
• Pine Ridge Infant School & Nursery Camberley

What is Aureus School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Aureus School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Aureus School last inspected by Ofsted?

Aureus School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Aureus School have?

Aureus School has 531 pupils on roll.

What age range does Aureus School cover?

Aureus School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Aureus School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.0, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Aureus School?

Aureus School is at Candytuft Way, Great Western Park, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 6FF.