Aureus School
Academy sponsor led · 531 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.7
Academy converter
Matthew Arnold School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,255of 1,220 places
- Free school meals
- 13.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 207
- Ofsted
- School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next, 10 June 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Matthew Arnold School (URN 123258, until 1 June 2015).
What the data says
Of the 205 pupils who finished Year 11 at Matthew Arnold School in 2023, 56% stayed on in Matthew Arnold School’s own sixth form (Oxfordshire average 45%), 31% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 119 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 52% went to university (Oxfordshire 28%, England 37%), and 38% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 56.5 against 46.1 across England and 46.4 in Oxfordshire, with 65% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Physics is unusually popular at GCSE: 93% of the year group took it, against 23% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Oxfordshire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Matthew Arnold School | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 205 | 6,906 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 93% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 56% | 45% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 4% | 13% |
| — further education college | 31% | 34% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Matthew Arnold School | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 119 | 8,583 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 80% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 52% | 28% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 38% | 18% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 7% | 7% |
| Employment | 27% | 38% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 15% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Matthew Arnold School | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 56.5 | 46.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 48% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 66% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 54% | 37% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.28 | 4.14 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 9% | 20% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 38.9 | 31.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 58.2 | 50.0 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 21% | 16% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 201 | 97% | 89% | 37% | 20% | 90% |
| Mathematics | 201 | 97% | 88% | 34% | 22% | 87% |
| English Literature | 194 | 94% | 86% | 35% | 21% | 91% |
| Biology | 194 | 94% | 23% | 33% | 45% | 91% |
| Physics | 192 | 93% | 23% | 36% | 46% | 88% |
| Chemistry | 191 | 92% | 23% | 38% | 47% | 88% |
| History | 115 | 56% | 41% | 54% | 26% | 85% |
| Spanish | 86 | 42% | 19% | 58% | 27% | 95% |
| Physical Education | 59 | 29% | 11% | 14% | 24% | 76% |
| French | 58 | 28% | 18% | 40% | 29% | 86% |
| Graphic Communication | 43 | 21% | 1% | 21% | 23% | 93% |
| Geography | 41 | 20% | 41% | 46% | 25% | 93% |
| Computer Science | 37 | 18% | 13% | 65% | 30% | 95% |
| Drama | 24 | 12% | 7% | 29% | 27% | 96% |
| Fine Art | 23 | 11% | 9% | 35% | 28% | 87% |
| Music | 17 | 8% | 5% | 47% | 33% | 94% |
| Textiles | 16 | 8% | 2% | 25% | 27% | 75% |
| German | 10 | 5% | 5% | 30% | 33% | 80% |
| Religious Studies | 4 | 2% | 31% | — | 32% | — |
| Russian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Arabic | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Chinese | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Matthew Arnold School | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 239 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 107 | 3,707 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C+ | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 33.98 | 33.46 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | C+ | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 17% | 16% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 37 | 35% | 31% |
| Psychology | 34 | 32% | 23% |
| Sociology | 28 | 26% | 13% |
| Biology | 27 | 25% | 20% |
| History | 25 | 23% | 13% |
| Economics | 20 | 19% | 13% |
| English Literature | 19 | 18% | 11% |
| Physics | 19 | 18% | 12% |
| Geography | 19 | 18% | 10% |
| Chemistry | 18 | 17% | 17% |
| Further Mathematics | 10 | 9% | 5% |
| Business Studies | 10 | 9% | 13% |
| Film Studies | 10 | 9% | 2% |
| Politics | 9 | 8% | 6% |
| Photography | 8 | 7% | 3% |
| Fine Art | 7 | 7% | 3% |
| Spanish | 7 | 7% | 2% |
| Computer Science | 6 | 6% | 5% |
| Physical Education | 6 | 6% | 3% |
| French | — | — | 1% |
| Graphic Communication | — | — | 2% |
| Italian | — | — | 0% |
| Japanese | — | — | 0% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Portuguese | — | — | 0% |
| Drama | — | — | 2% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 14 | 13% | — |
Other secondary schools in Oxfordshire
Bartholomew School
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88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 57.0
Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth Form
Academy converter · sixth form · 943 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.5
Burford School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,452 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.4
Carterton Community College
Community school · sixth form · 774 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.8
Cheney School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,706 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.0
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.