St Johns CofE Academy

About St Johns CofE Academy

St John’s CofE Academy is a small Church of England secondary school in the Vale of White Horse that operates on a strikingly different scale from most Oxfordshire secondaries. With just 156 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,095, it is significantly undersubscribed in terms of physical space, yet its admissions data tells a different story: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 282 applications for 109 places, with 145 first-preference applications and an oversubscription ratio of 2.59. That level of demand suggests a school that families actively seek out, even though its headline Progress 8 score is not provided in the available data. The local authority average Progress 8 for secondary schools stands at -0.07, which is broadly in line with the national average. Without St John’s own Progress 8 figure, it is impossible to say whether it outperforms or underperforms that benchmark, but the oversubscription figures imply a strong local reputation that may not be fully captured by raw attainment metrics alone.

Academically, the school’s outcomes are not detailed in the data, so parents will need to look to Ofsted reports or school-published results for specifics. What is clear is that St John’s serves a relatively affluent intake, with only 4.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals, well below the national average. The school does not have a formal sixth form, meaning students must transfer elsewhere after Year 11, and it offers nursery provision for children as young as two, making it an all-through option from nursery to GCSE. The school’s religious character as a Church of England academy may appeal to families seeking a faith-based environment, though no specific ethos statements are available in the data. Compared with the three top-performing peers in Oxfordshire — The Cherwell School, Didcot Girls’ School, and Bartholomew School — St John’s is not ranked among them, but its small size and high oversubscription suggest a niche appeal that may prioritise community feel over league-table positioning.

Facilities are surprisingly extensive for a school of this size, including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, and a chapel, alongside science labs, art studios, and music rooms. Sports offered range from rowing and martial arts to rugby and gymnastics, and clubs include Model UN, debate, and choir. The school’s SEND provisions cover moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication issues, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder, indicating a broad support framework. Given the high oversubscription ratio, families applying should be prepared for competition: only 104 of 145 first-preference applicants received offers in the most recent round. This school will suit families who value a small, faith-based community with strong facilities and a wide extracurricular offer, but who are comfortable with the lack of a sixth form and the need to plan for post-16 education elsewhere.

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