Larkmead School - The School Companion

Larkmead School

Vale of White Horse · OX14 1RF

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 959 pupils, 21.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.9% on SEN support Behaviour 12.6% absence rate Staff 9.3% turnover Financials £3,103 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Larkmead School

General Information

Address: Faringdon Road, Abingdon, OX14 1RF – View on map
Phone: 01235520141
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Jonathan Dennett
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 191 families put it first for 164 places – 12 for every 10 places. 70% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 11 · 2026 12
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

959 pupils out of 1060 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 184
% eligible for free school meals: 21.8%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (similar to the Vale of White Horse average)
English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.3% a year (Vale of White Horse 18.4%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 37% moved to another school, 63% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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 Oxfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 53 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 88 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 46 (1.0 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 Oxfordshire (the council area this school is in), 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: 12.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 31.4%
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: 18.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 43 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 41 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 40 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 20 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 17 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 19 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

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

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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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 2024 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: 39.4
Compared with the area: 5.1 points below the Vale of White Horse average (44.5)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−8.4 points against an expected 47.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 55% (Vale of White Horse 62%, England 65%) Falling
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 schoolVale of White Horse averageEngland↘ Falling Down 6.2 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 5.1 points below the Vale of White Horse average (44.5).

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.

6th of 8 secondary schools in Vale of White Horse for Attainment 8

#4John Mason School44.5
#5Faringdon Community College43.7
#6Larkmead School39.4
#7Aureus School33.7
#8UTC Oxfordshire32.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Matthew Arnold School56.5
#2Fitzharrys School46.0
#3King Alfred's45.4
#4John Mason School44.5
#5Faringdon Community College43.7
#6Larkmead School39.4
#7Aureus School33.7
#8UTC Oxfordshire32.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
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

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Sociology
D & T
Food Technology
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Business Studies
Spanish
Sports Studies
Photography
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
Religious Studies
Music Studies (General)
Dance: General
French Language
Polish
Russian
German
Astronomy
Turkish
Chinese
Portuguese
Greek
Latin

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 6 secondary schools in Vale of White Horse for Ofsted rating

#2Fitzharrys SchoolGood
#3John Mason SchoolGood
#4Larkmead SchoolGood
#5Matthew Arnold SchoolGood
#6UTC OxfordshireGood

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

#1Faringdon Community CollegeGood
#2Fitzharrys SchoolGood
#3John Mason SchoolGood
#4Larkmead SchoolGood
#5Matthew Arnold SchoolGood
#6UTC OxfordshireGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £3,103 (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.

9th of 9 secondary schools in Vale of White Horse for spending per pupil

#7King Alfred's£4,437
#8St Johns CofE Academy£3,540
#9Larkmead School£3,103

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

#1Aureus School£10,035
#2UTC Oxfordshire£9,155
#3Faringdon Community College£7,536
#4Matthew Arnold School£6,953
#5John Mason School£6,282
#6Fitzharrys School£5,508
#7King Alfred's£4,437
#8St Johns CofE Academy£3,540
#9Larkmead School£3,103

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 Oxfordshire: 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