Burford School A GSG School Review
What is included in the Burford School review?
Academic results & facilities
Up to date results for GCSEs, A levels, BTECs and IB; we go to places league tables can’t reach.
Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline
From how the school reacts when something goes wrong to how they tackle thorny issues like substance abuse, consent and mental health. We check they’ve got it all covered.
Information about the head
Our unparalleled access to the head teacher means we can tell you exactly what to expect when you meet them – from leadership style right down to the décor of their study and what they’re currently reading.
Teaching and learning approaches
Detailed info on teaching styles and stand-out subjects. We observe the lessons you’ll never see on an open day.
Entrance & admissions information
Exit information - where do the children go next?
Learning support & SEN information
Arts, sports and extracurricular
Pupils & parents (what are they really like?)
What The Good Schools Guide says..
With over 40 acres of land and a long heritage, Burford is a formidable competitor in the local leagues. Cricket on the home square, in front of a picturesque thatched pavilion, is particularly strong, frequently earning the school a place in the Cricketer Top 100 schools. There are tutors for academic support, a school parliament for day-to-day issues and the school has formal arrangements with independent listeners, as well as a counsellor for mental-health support. ‘You’ll always get…
Read more- Burford School
Cheltenham Road
Burford
Oxfordshire
OX18 4PL - Head: Mr Matthew Albrighton
- T 01993 823303
- E office@burford.oxon.sch.uk
- W www.burford.oxon.sch.uk
- Burford School is a state day and boarding school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18. Interested in reading more? Read our unbiased Burford School review.
- Read about the best schools in Oxford and North Oxfordshire and South Oxfordshire
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Oxfordshire
- Pupils: 1,450; sixth formers: 232
- Religion: Non-denominational
- Fees: No day fees; Boarding £11,250 pa
- Open days: Open Evening |September 2024; Sixth Form Open Evening | 9 November 2023; Boarding Open Morning | 3 February 2024
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Good 1
- 16-19 study programmes Good 2
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 2
- 1 Short inspection 11th October 2023
- 2 Full inspection 1st October 2014
Short inspection reports only give an overall grade; you have to read the report itself to gauge whether the detailed grading from the earlier full inspection still stands.
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What the school says...
Burford School has been delivering an excellent education for over 450 years. Today, we continue to offer the best of education to day and boarding girls and boys, aged 11 to 18 years old.
We know our students will need superb academic foundations to flourish in the future, and we support each one to reach for their very best. We consistently achieve outstanding examination results, well above national and Oxfordshire figures. We are proud that a high proportion of students go on to university, including Oxbridge; secure competitive apprenticeships at companies including BMW Group and JP Morgan; and enter dream careers in performing arts to forensic science or physiotherapy. In our Learning Zone, we tailor learning to enable all students to reach their full potential. While outside of the classroom, our renowned Burford Institute of Music and Athletic Foundation support them to excel.
To achieve the most from life, our students will also need character. From sport, music, conversational Chinese, chess, Young Enterprise, drama and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, we offer over 35 activities and clubs, with every student encouraged to participate. Through these experiences and the many trips and enrichment opportunities we provide, our young people develop resilience, commitment, problem-solving and communication skills they can use long after they leave us.
With our history to guide us, we teach our students traditional values and the importance of respect. We prepare them to meet 21st-century challenges and equip them with the tools to build happy and successful lives. Sometimes, we know, young people need extra support. Our large and experienced Pastoral Team works tirelessly to ensure that all students have the foundations to thrive while at Burford School.
We are fortunate to enjoy 40 acres of Cotswold countryside on site, and we make the most of our idyllic setting on the edge of the bustling historic market town of Burford.
The best way to truly understand life at Burford School is by visiting us. We welcome visits by appointment and also invite you to join us at our forthcoming open events.
We look forward to meeting you soon. ...Read more
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School associations
State boarding school
Sports
Unusual sports
Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.
Since 2021, Mr Matthew Albrighton MA (Cantab) PGCE FRSA. No stranger to the region, he was born in Northamptonshire and attended Warwick School before reading geography at Cambridge and training as a teacher. First post was at King Edward VI Birmingham, followed by a return to his alma mater before taking over as head of geography and IB coordinator at Wellington College, then deputy head at St Edward’s Oxford.
Describes this as ‘a very special school – we sit in a niche space, 450 years old this year, so it’s got that real heritage, that cultural heritage’. As for moving from the independent sector, ‘There are some nuances round resources, but in the end it’s still young people – there will be times when they get it right and times when they get it wrong,’ he mused....
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
We have a strong learning support department with well qualified and totally committed staff. Considered a major strength of the school, the department was judged as outstanding in our last Ofsted report. 10-09
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | Y |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
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