Lord Williams's School

South Oxfordshire · OX9 2AQ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 2259 pupils, 15.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 9.6% on SEN support Behaviour 11.1% absence rate Staff 13.6% turnover Financials £7,155 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Lord Williams's School

General Information

Address: Oxford Road, Thame, OX9 2AQ – View on map
Phone: 01844210510
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Neil Dimbleby
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 279 families put it first for 301 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 104 of the 301 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

2259 pupils out of 2290 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 270
% eligible for free school meals: 15.6%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the South Oxfordshire average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.6% a year (South Oxfordshire 13.1%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 24% moved to another school, 76% 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 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: 11.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 26.4%
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

Resourced provision for AutismSpeech, language and communication 30 places · 22 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 9.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 98 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 38 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 37 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 15 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 49 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 33 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 17 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Physical disability: 8 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 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: 4.7 points below the South Oxfordshire average (50.9)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−2.6 points against an expected 48.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 68% (South Oxfordshire 74%, 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 schoolSouth Oxfordshire averageEngland↘ Falling Down 3.1 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4.7 points below the South Oxfordshire average (50.9).

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 10 secondary schools in South Oxfordshire for Attainment 8

#6Icknield Community College51.2
#7St Birinus School48.2
#8Lord Williams's School46.2
#9Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge44.3
#10Europa School UK0.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Gillotts School61.3
#2Didcot Girls' School58.8
#3Langtree School58.0
#4Wallingford School53.9
#5Wheatley Park School51.5
#6Icknield Community College51.2
#7St Birinus School48.2
#8Lord Williams's School46.2
#9Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge44.3
#10Europa School UK0.9

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 95.0%
Went into further education: 90.0%
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 Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Geography
Food Technology
Sports Studies
Art & Design
D & T
Computer Science
German
Religious Studies
Media Studies
French Language
Speech & Drama
Dance: General
Spanish
Music Studies (General)
Russian
Chinese
Japanese Language

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

6th of 10 secondary schools in South Oxfordshire for Ofsted rating

#4Icknield Community CollegeGood
#5Langtree SchoolGood
#6Lord Williams's SchoolGood
#7Maiden Erlegh Chiltern EdgeGood
#8St Birinus 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

#1Didcot Girls' SchoolOutstanding
#2Gillotts SchoolOutstanding
#3Europa School UKGood
#4Icknield Community CollegeGood
#5Langtree SchoolGood
#6Lord Williams's SchoolGood
#7Maiden Erlegh Chiltern EdgeGood
#8St Birinus SchoolGood
#9Wallingford SchoolGood
#10Wheatley Park SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,155 (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.

4th of 9 secondary schools in South Oxfordshire for spending per pupil

#2Langtree School£7,853
#3Icknield Community College£7,210
#4Lord Williams's School£7,155
#5Wheatley Park School£7,134
#6St Birinus School£6,792

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

#1Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge£8,843
#2Langtree School£7,853
#3Icknield Community College£7,210
#4Lord Williams's School£7,155
#5Wheatley Park School£7,134
#6St Birinus School£6,792
#7Didcot Girls' School£6,786
#8Europa School UK£6,416
#9Gillotts School£3,568

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