The Oxford Academy

The Oxford Academy is a large secondary school in the River Learning Trust serving a disadvantaged catchment, with well above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and with SEN support. Safeguarding standards are met, and inspectors found the school meeting expected standards for inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision. Leaders know the school well, have improved behaviour and the learning culture markedly, and staff feel positive and supported. Inclusion work and careers education are particular strengths. However, the school is not yet getting pupils to achieve well enough. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching were all judged to need attention, with national examination outcomes well below average and disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and those known to social care underachieving. Teaching quality and use of assessment checks vary, so pupils do not learn as quickly as they could, and attendance remains too low despite early signs of improvement. Sixth-form teaching is effective but not yet reflected in published outcomes. Overall, this is a school with a positive, safe and inclusive culture and clear capacity to improve, but core academic outcomes and attendance remain significant priorities. Leaders must embed highly effective teaching, ensure checks on learning are used consistently to address gaps, and continue to raise attendance, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of the school and are enacting steady, sustained improvement.
• Inclusion is a strength: barriers are identified precisely and support is carefully designed and reviewed.
• Staff have a detailed understanding of pupils, including those with SEND, and consistent classroom expectations help pupils achieve.
• Staff are very positive about working at the school and are well supported through training, workload and wellbeing consideration.
• Personal development is systematic, with pupils respectful, thoughtful and knowledgeable about fundamental British values.
• Pastoral care is effective, with bespoke support including counsellors, a school nurse, a chaplain and a valued wellbeing area.
• Careers education is a strength from Year 7 onwards, helping pupils and sixth-form students plan ambitious next steps.
• Post-16 provision is carefully tailored, including an innovative level 2 programme, and students progress to university, competitive courses and apprenticeships.
• Behaviour across the school is very positive, with calm and respectful pupils, rare derogatory language and very few bullying concerns.
• Pupils feel safe, happy, known and liked by staff, and lessons are calm and undisturbed.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention; pupils do not achieve as well as they should.
• National examination outcomes remain well below national averages at GCSE.
• Disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and pupils known to social care underachieve.
• Pupils do not progress as quickly as they could within lessons and learn less than they should.
• Curriculum design does not support all pupils to learn as much and as quickly as they can.
• There is variability in teaching quality and in how well teachers check pupils' knowledge and address gaps or misconceptions.
• Too many pupils, including vulnerable pupils, do not attend school regularly enough.
• Attendance remains above national averages for absence and persistent absence, and improvement is not yet consistent.
• Sixth-form teaching is effective but its impact is not yet showing in published outcomes.
• Leaders must embed highly effective teaching across the school, including in the sixth form, to raise achievement.

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 Oxford Academy attended 86.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.6% 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, 9.3% of pupils at The Oxford Academy 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 Oxford Academy had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.3% 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, 31.3% of pupils at The Oxford Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% 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 Oxford Academy received £10,224 and spent £9,717 for each of its 1,113 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,708,000 (£1,535 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of River Learning Trust, income was £8,007 and spending £7,763 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 Oxford · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

The Oxford Academy is part of River Learning Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Rose Hill Primary School Oxford
• Larkrise Primary School Oxford
• Cheney School Oxford
• Horspath Church of England Primary School Oxford
• Garsington Church of England Primary School Oxford
• Bayards Hill School Oxford
• New Marston Primary School Oxford
• Sandhills Community Primary School Oxford
• Barton Park Primary School Oxford
• The Swan School Oxford

What is The Oxford Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was The Oxford Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Oxford Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The Oxford Academy have?

The Oxford Academy has 1,062 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Oxford Academy cover?

The Oxford Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The Oxford Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 31.2, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Oxford Academy?

The Oxford Academy is at Sandy Lane West, Littlemore, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 6JZ.