John Masefield High School

Herefordshire, County of · HR8 2HF

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 849 pupils, 23.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 21.3% on SEN support Behaviour 8.1% absence rate Staff 16.7% turnover Financials £7,498 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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John Masefield High School

General Information

Address: Mabel's Furlong, Ledbury, HR8 2HF – View on map
Phone: 01531631012
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr John Holmes
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 133 families put it first for 142 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 36 of the 142 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

849 pupils out of 930 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 180
% eligible for free school meals: 23.6%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Herefordshire, County of average)
English as an additional language: 8% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.7% a year (Herefordshire, County of 14.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Herefordshire, County of: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 25 (2.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 22 (2.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 8.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 21.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 81 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 33 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 10 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 46.2
Compared with the area: in line with the Herefordshire, County of average (45.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.3 points against an expected 45.9)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 70% (Herefordshire, County of 66%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolHerefordshire, County of averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Herefordshire, County of average (45.6).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

8th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8

#6John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre Academy47.7
#7Whitecross Hereford46.5
#8John Masefield High School46.2
#9The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School45.9
#10Lady Hawkins' School43.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Mary's RC High School52.2
#2The Steiner Academy Hereford51.0
#3Fairfield High School50.3
#4Wigmore School48.4
#5Weobley High School47.8
#6John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre Academy47.7
#7Whitecross Hereford46.5
#8John Masefield High School46.2
#9The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School45.9
#10Lady Hawkins' School43.3
#11Kingstone High School42.3
#12Queen Elizabeth High School39.7
#13The Hereford Church of England Academy39.6
#14Earl Mortimer College37.5
#15Aylestone School36.3

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 95.0%
Went into further education: 89.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
French Language
Art & Design
History
Food Technology
German
Sports Studies
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Computer Science
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Dance: General
Spanish

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

4th of 13 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Ofsted rating

#2St Mary's RC High SchoolOutstanding
#3Earl Mortimer CollegeGood
#4John Masefield High SchoolGood
#5Kingstone High SchoolGood
#6Lady Hawkins' SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Fairfield High SchoolOutstanding
#2St Mary's RC High SchoolOutstanding
#3Earl Mortimer CollegeGood
#4John Masefield High SchoolGood
#5Kingstone High SchoolGood
#6Lady Hawkins' SchoolGood
#7Queen Elizabeth High SchoolGood
#8The Steiner Academy HerefordGood
#9Weobley High SchoolGood
#10Whitecross HerefordGood
#11Wigmore SchoolGood
#12Aylestone SchoolRequires improvement
#13The Hereford Church of England AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,498 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

12th of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for spending per pupil

#10St Mary's RC High School£7,520
#11Kingstone High School£7,504
#12John Masefield High School£7,498
#13Fairfield High School£7,325
#14The Steiner Academy Hereford£6,899

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Lady Hawkins' School£8,988
#2Earl Mortimer College£8,938
#3Aylestone School£8,744
#4Queen Elizabeth High School£8,039
#5Wigmore School£8,022
#6The Hereford Church of England Academy£7,722
#7Weobley High School£7,714
#8Whitecross Hereford£7,714
#9John Kyrle High School and Sixth Form Centre Academy£7,710
#10St Mary's RC High School£7,520
#11Kingstone High School£7,504
#12John Masefield High School£7,498
#13Fairfield High School£7,325
#14The Steiner Academy Hereford£6,899
#15The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School£6,817

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Herefordshire, County of: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered