The Cooper School

The Cooper School is in a period of rapid change and improvement after joining the Acer Trust in January 2024. Leaders have redesigned the curriculum, raised expectations and improved teaching, and pupils who attend regularly now achieve well. Pupils are generally well behaved in lessons, personal development is strong, and the sixth form is a notable strength, with high attendance, positive attitudes and good careers guidance. Safeguarding is effective. However, too many pupils, especially the most vulnerable, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, are persistently absent or do not attend their timetabled lessons when in school. Suspensions also remain high for a small number of pupils, so these pupils miss important learning. Some lesson activities do not consistently help pupils practise and secure new knowledge, and communication with parents and staff during the changes has not always been effective. These issues are the main priorities for further improvement.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum is accessible to all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and teach new knowledge effectively
• Effective reading support builds weaker readers' confidence and fluency
• Pupils behave well in lessons and focus on learning
• Sixth-form students show positive attitudes, high engagement and produce high-quality work
• Helpful careers guidance supports ambitious choices about next steps
• Personal development is strong, with clubs and learning about religions and cultures
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Pupils celebrate differences and the school has high aspirations for all

Areas for Improvement

• Persistent absence remains too high for some pupils, particularly vulnerable, SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• A minority of key stage 3 and 4 pupils do not attend timetabled lessons while in school
• Suspension rates remain too high for a small number of vulnerable pupils
• Activity choices do not consistently help pupils learn and practise new knowledge
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are not consistently applied across the school
• Communication and engagement with parents, staff and pupils have not always been effective

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 Cooper School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.0% 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, 5.5% of pupils at The Cooper School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Cooper School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.7% 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, 20.0% of pupils at The Cooper School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Cooper School received £7,949 and spent £7,606 for each of its 1,231 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £779,000 (-£633 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Acer Trust, income was £7,421 and spending £7,382 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 Bicester · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

The Cooper School is part of Acer Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Glory Farm Primary School Bicester
• Botley School Oxford
• Matthew Arnold School Oxford
• Stadhampton Primary School Oxford
• Wood Green School Witney
• Chalgrove Community Primary School Oxford
• Icknield Community College Watlington
• Watlington Primary School Watlington

What is The Cooper School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Cooper School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was The Cooper School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Cooper School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does The Cooper School have?

The Cooper School has 1,118 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Cooper School cover?

The Cooper School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Cooper School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.9, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Cooper School?

The Cooper School is at Churchill Road, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 4RS.