The Matthew Arnold School

Spelthorne · TW18 1PF

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 947 pupils, 20.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.4% on SEN support Behaviour 6.0% absence rate Staff 37.3% turnover Financials £6,658 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Matthew Arnold School

General Information

Address: Kingston Road, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1PF – View on map
Phone: 01784457275
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Assal Ruse
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 246 families put it first for 192 places – 13 for every 10 places. 71% 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 12 · 2024 15 · 2025 13 · 2026 13
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

947 pupils out of 980 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 196
% eligible for free school meals: 20.9%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (less mixed than the Spelthorne average)
English as an additional language: 16% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 37.3% a year (Spelthorne 21.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 45% moved to another school, 55% 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 Surrey: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 95 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 179 (2.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 37 (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 Surrey (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: 6.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 15.2%
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: 12.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 29 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 27 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 24 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 18 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 23 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 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.

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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: 49.0
Compared with the area: 2.7 points below the Spelthorne average (51.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+2.9 points against an expected 46.1)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 68% (Spelthorne 74%, 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 schoolSpelthorne averageEngland↗ Improving Up 8.8 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 2.7 points below the Spelthorne average (51.7).

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.

4th of 5 secondary schools in Spelthorne for Attainment 8

#2The Bishop Wand Church of England School53.9
#3Thamesmead School50.6
#4The Matthew Arnold School49.0
#5Thomas Knyvett College38.6

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Paul's Catholic College61.8
#2The Bishop Wand Church of England School53.9
#3Thamesmead School50.6
#4The Matthew Arnold School49.0
#5Thomas Knyvett College38.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 86.0%
Went into further education: 78.0%
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
Geography
Art & Design
Food Technology
History
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Sociology
Business Studies
Sports Studies
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Spanish
Music Studies (General)
Russian
French Language
Portuguese
German

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

3rd of 3 secondary schools in Spelthorne for Ofsted rating

#1St Paul's Catholic CollegeOutstanding
#2Thamesmead SchoolGood
#3The Matthew Arnold 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

#1St Paul's Catholic CollegeOutstanding
#2Thamesmead SchoolGood
#3The Matthew Arnold SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,658 (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 5 secondary schools in Spelthorne for spending per pupil

#3The Bishop Wand Church of England School£6,907
#4St Paul's Catholic College£6,881
#5The Matthew Arnold School£6,658

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

#1Thomas Knyvett College£8,397
#2Thamesmead School£7,579
#3The Bishop Wand Church of England School£6,907
#4St Paul's Catholic College£6,881
#5The Matthew Arnold School£6,658

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 Surrey: 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