Waddesdon Church of England School

About Waddesdon Church of England School

Waddesdon Church of England School sits within Buckinghamshire, a local authority with 38 secondary schools, 12 of which hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. Waddesdon is one of them. In terms of academic progress, it ranks 13th in the county, placing it comfortably in the top half of Buckinghamshire secondaries. The three highest-performing schools in the area are all grammar schools — Dr Challoner's Grammar School, The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe, and Dr Challoner's High School — which set a high bar with Progress 8 scores above 1.1. Waddesdon, as a non-selective Church of England school, operates in a different context, but its own Progress 8 score of 0.51 is well above the local authority average of 0.25, showing that pupils here make significantly more progress than the typical Buckinghamshire student. Headteacher Matthew Abbott leads a school of 1,015 pupils, slightly over its official capacity of 1,000, and the school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 541 applications for 144 places, with 173 families putting it as their first preference.

The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in December 2021, awarded Outstanding across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This is a step up from its previous inspection in 2006, which also rated overall effectiveness as Outstanding but gave sixth-form provision a grade 2 (Good). At Key Stage 4, Waddesdon's Attainment 8 score is 50.9, and 78.6% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is 29.3%, with 21.4% achieving the full EBacc at grade 4 or above. Progress 8 is banded as 'Well above average' nationally, with particularly strong progress in open subjects (0.65) and the EBacc bucket (0.61). In the sixth form, the school's value-added score is 0.17, banded as 'Above average', and students average a C+ grade per entry, with 31.91 points per entry. The best three A-levels average out at a C+ grade, with 7.5% achieving AAB or higher.

The school offers a broad range of facilities, including a theatre, chapel, sixth-form centre, astro turf, science labs, music rooms, and art studios. Sports on offer include football, rugby, cricket, tennis, gymnastics, cross country, and martial arts, while clubs range from choir and orchestra to Model UN, debate, and gardening. Waddesdon provides for a wide spectrum of SEND needs, including dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and physical disabilities. With 11.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a mixed catchment. Given its strong academic outcomes, Outstanding Ofsted record, and oversubscribed admissions, Waddesdon is a strong choice for families in Buckinghamshire seeking a high-performing non-selective secondary with a Church of England character and a thriving sixth form.

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