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Best primary schools near Abingdon
Best primary schools near Henley and Wallingford
Best primary schools near Stadhampton
Village primaries in this area can empty out as you get further up – a small intake at reception can end up being tiny by the time you get to years 4, 5 and 6. You’ll find some of these schools mix year groups where they don’t have the numbers to justify separate classes – not necessarily a problem in a well-run school but it does somewhat limit your child’s friendship pool. Look out for partnership primaries that get priority admissions to the local comprehensive.
More Witney-way, Brize Norton Primary School takes the prize for best SATS results; a quarter of its families are involved with the RAF (though the rest are also de facto experts in chinooks). Towards Faringdon, Buckland Church of England Primary School is very popular, with long-standing leadership and fewer children leaving for local preps. Commutable to Oxford, Cumnor Church of England Primary School has a catchment that wiggles up around the nature reserve and to Cumnor Hill – last year you had to be within two miles, even in catchment (ducklings on the reservoir would’ve been in by a quack…). In this area of Oxfordshire, you should be reading our Oxford and North Oxfordshire Area Guide, too, because you’re touching distance from the Cotswolds and the city itself.
Best state secondary schools near Abingdon
Best private schools near Abingdon
Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School is lovely and relatively big, with an entry of 30, though it loses a few to Moulsford Prep and other local preps from year 3. Ewelme CofE Primary School is a long-standing favourite (you’ll need to be in the village or an ‘active member’ of the parish); lots look at Watlington Primary School, too - be aware that not everyone in catchment gets in.
Best state secondary schools near Henley and Wallingford
Best private schools near Henley and Wallingford
Best nurseries near Henley and Wallingford
Locals love Marsh Baldon Church of England Primary School, and many use it as a pre-prep. Pupils at Great Milton Church of England Primary School get great SATS results and have found recent success at national dance competitions; you can expect an offer from anywhere in the Miltons and Haseleys. Garsington Church of England Primary School is reassuringly over-subscribed, sitting in the heart of a pretty village; if you live there, you’ll be safely in Wheatley Park’s catchment. Cross the motorway to Long Crendon Primary School, where our reviewer found, ‘staggering commitment to outdoor learning’, ‘engaging’ teaching and a ‘values-driven’ community; see our Bucks Area Guide for more details.
Best state secondary schools near Stadhampton
Best private schools near Stadhampton
Best nurseries near Stadhampton
Most children with special needs in Oxfordshire attend a mainstream primary, secondary or academy school. Some mainstream schools have specialist resource bases for particular areas of need. For example, children of primary age with an EHCP and a diagnosis of communication and interaction needs are supported in Copper Class at St Andrew’s School, Chinnor, while Lord Williams's School, Thame, and Fitzharry’s School, Abingdon, support similar pupils at secondary age.
John Watson School, in Wheatley, is a community special school for children aged two to 19 with severe, complex, or profound learning difficulties. Kingfisher School in Abingdon and Fitzwaryn School in Wantage are both special schools for children from nursery to 19 who have a range of complex learning needs, including autism.
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Need help? Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+. Special Educational Needs Index
Find top international, British, IB and American schools in over 40 countries. The Good Schools Guide International publishes impartial and forthright reviews of international schools across the world.
We examined the value-added from KS2 to GCSE for 2022 to see which state selective grammar schools added the most value to their offspring. A note of caution - the more highly selective a grammar school, the less scope there will be to add value.
Grammar schools are state-funded, academically selective senior schools. The education a child receives at grammar school is paid for by the state unlike at private schools which provide education for a fee. There are currently around 163 located in 36 English local authorities, with around 167,000 pupils between them. Northern Ireland has a further 67 grammar schools, but there are none in Wales or Scotland. A word of caution: there are private schools that have the word 'grammar' in their name but this is purely for historical reasons.
At specialist music, dance or performing arts schools, the arts aren't optional extras. They’re intrinsic to the school curriculum. Students are expected to fit in high level training and hours of practice alongside a full academic provision. It's a lot to ask any child to take on, but for those with exceptional performing ability this kind of education can be transformative.