The WREN School

The WREN School is a secondary school in the Excalibur Academies Trust that is performing at the expected standard overall. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages at GCSE, behave well, and attend in line with national averages, although persistent absence remains above the national rate. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make positive progress, and the school's specially resourced provision is valued by pupils. Safeguarding is met. The school has a calm, inclusive and respectful culture where pupils feel safe and are well supported, and the breadth of personal development and careers education is a strength.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning
• Reading, writing and oracy are prioritised across the curriculum
• Pupils with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language are well supported
• The specially resourced SEND provision is valued by pupils
• Attendance is close to national averages and persistent absence is reducing
• The curriculum is broad and well designed, with effective teaching
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is broad and carefully planned
• Careers education is a strength, including in the sixth form
• Leadership and governance are effective and improvement-focused
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and pupils feel safe

Areas for Improvement

• Checking for gaps in pupils' knowledge is not consistently effective across lessons
• Persistent absence remains above the national average
• Sixth-form outcomes have been too low over several years and improvements are too recent to show impact

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 WREN School attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.9% 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, 11.0% of pupils at The WREN 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 The WREN School had 14.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.3% 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, 12.7% of pupils at The WREN School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 WREN School received £8,134 and spent £8,371 for each of its 979 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £496,000 (£506 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Excalibur Academies Trust, income was £7,945 and spending £8,027 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 Reading · Reading local authority: places and applications

The WREN School is part of Excalibur Academies Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• John O'Gaunt School Hungerford
• Lambourn CofE Primary School Hungerford
• Great Bedwyn Church of England School Marlborough
• St Katharine's CofE Primary School Marlborough
• Burbage Primary School Marlborough
• Ogbourne CofE Primary School Marlborough
• Easton Royal Academy Pewsey
• St John's Marlborough Marlborough
• Liden Academy Swindon
• Nythe Primary School Swindon

What is The WREN School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was The WREN School last inspected by Ofsted?

The WREN School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The WREN School have?

The WREN School has 931 pupils on roll.

What age range does The WREN School cover?

The WREN School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The WREN School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.2, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The WREN School?

The WREN School is at 61-63 Bath Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 2BB.