The Bicester School

Cherwell · OX26 2NS

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1176 pupils, 17.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 19% on SEN support Behaviour 8.7% absence rate Staff 13% turnover Financials £7,067 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Bicester School

General Information

Address: Queen's Avenue, Bicester, OX26 2NS – View on map
Phone: 01869243331
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sam Knowlton
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 184 families put it first for 233 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 233 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 10 · 2026 8
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1176 pupils out of 1430 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 169
% eligible for free school meals: 17.7%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (similar to the Cherwell average)
English as an additional language: 15% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13% a year (Cherwell 17.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 32% moved to another school, 68% 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: 8.7%
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: 19.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 80 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 47 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 28 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 16 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 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

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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: 47.9
Compared with the area: 3.6 points above the Cherwell average (44.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−3.0 points against an expected 50.9)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 65% (Cherwell 63%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolCherwell averageEngland↗ Improving Up 6.7 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 3.6 points above the Cherwell average (44.3).

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.

2nd of 10 secondary schools in Cherwell for Attainment 8

#1Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth Form48.5
#2The Bicester School47.9
#3North Oxfordshire Academy46.8
#4Whitelands Academy46.4

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth Form48.5
#2The Bicester School47.9
#3North Oxfordshire Academy46.8
#4Whitelands Academy46.4
#5Gosford Hill School45.3
#6The Warriner School44.3
#7The Cooper School41.7
#8Futures Institute Banbury41.1
#9Heyford Park School39.7
#10Wykham Park34.8

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 92.0%
Went into further education: 80.0%
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
History
Geography
Business Studies
Spanish
Art & Design
Food Technology
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Sports Studies
Computer Science
French Language
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Chinese
Polish
Portuguese
Italian
Arabic
Russian
Turkish
Music Studies (General)

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

5th of 8 secondary schools in Cherwell for Ofsted rating

#3Heyford Park SchoolGood
#4North Oxfordshire AcademyGood
#5The Bicester SchoolGood
#6The Warriner SchoolGood
#7Whitelands AcademyGood

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

#1Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth FormGood
#2Futures Institute BanburyGood
#3Heyford Park SchoolGood
#4North Oxfordshire AcademyGood
#5The Bicester SchoolGood
#6The Warriner SchoolGood
#7Whitelands AcademyGood
#8Wykham ParkGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,067 (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.

5th of 10 secondary schools in Cherwell for spending per pupil

#3Whitelands Academy£7,241
#4The Warriner School£7,126
#5The Bicester School£7,067
#6The Cooper School£7,031
#7Wykham Park£6,983

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

#1North Oxfordshire Academy£8,686
#2Blessed George Napier Catholic School and Sixth Form£7,834
#3Whitelands Academy£7,241
#4The Warriner School£7,126
#5The Bicester School£7,067
#6The Cooper School£7,031
#7Wykham Park£6,983
#8Gosford Hill School£6,934
#9Heyford Park School£6,860
#10Futures Institute Banbury£4,388

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