Matthew Arnold School

About Matthew Arnold School

Matthew Arnold School is a mixed state secondary in the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire, and it sits in a competitive local landscape. Within its local authority, it ranks 5th out of 8 schools of its type, placing it in the 62.5th percentile. For context, the top-performing peers in the area are The Cherwell School, Didcot Girls' School, and Bartholomew School, all of which have notably higher ranking scores. The school is also 29th out of 46 similar schools across the wider Oxfordshire authority, and the nearest Outstanding-rated school is The Cherwell School, about 4.8 km away. Matthew Arnold itself was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2016. The inspection noted that the school remains Good, with leadership and management also judged Good. It is a large school, with 1,250 pupils on roll against a capacity of 980, and it has a sixth form, though it is not officially designated as such in the data.

Academically, Matthew Arnold School's results are mixed. Its Progress 8 score is -0.24, which is below the local authority average of -0.07, and the school is ranked in the bottom 50 nationally by this measure. The Attainment 8 score is 43.2, and 56.1% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, dropping to 38.1% at grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is low at 11.6%, and only 5.2% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. Breaking down Progress 8, English is essentially flat at 0.01, but maths is significantly weaker at -0.49, and the open element is -0.31. The EBacc element is -0.22. The school's overall Progress 8 banding is described as Average, but the negative scores suggest that, on average, pupils make less progress than their peers nationally, particularly in maths. The school does not have a sixth form, so there are no A-Level results to consider.

In terms of practical context, the school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 578 applications for 187 places, a ratio of 3.09 applicants per place, with 152 offers going to first-preference applicants out of 252 who listed it first. This suggests strong local demand. Facilities include a theatre, science labs, music rooms, art studios, a sports hall, and a sixth form centre, plus outdoor provision like astro turf, tennis courts, and playing fields. The school offers a wide range of sports and clubs, including drama, choir, orchestra, debate, chess, and coding. SEND support covers eight areas, including dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. Parent views from 119 respondents show 82% would recommend the school, though opinions are more divided on SEND support: only 58% of those with SEND children agreed that the school gives them the support they need, while 43% disagreed. This school may suit families who value a large, popular local comprehensive with strong extracurricular breadth, but who are aware that academic progress is below the local average.

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