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  • Gordon's School
    West End
    Woking
    Surrey
    GU24 9PT
  • Head: Mr A Moss
  • T 01276 858084
  • F 01276 855335
  • E registrar@gordons.school
  • W www.gordons.school
  • A state school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.
  • Boarding: Yes
  • Local authority: Surrey
  • Pupils: 981; sixth formers: 353
  • Religion: Christian Inter-denominational
  • Fees: Day £9,807; Boarding £20,664 - £22,050 pa
  • Open days: Check school website
  • Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
  • Ofsted:
    • Latest Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1
      • 16-19 study programmes Outstanding 1
      • Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 1
    • 1 Full inspection 12th November 2014
  • Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report

What says..

Among the very best state offerings in the country, with an academically rigorous curriculum. It is an all-ability school, for which students are not selected via entrance exams, yet its results are top notch. There’s not much allowance for anyone stepping out of line at this highly disciplined school, but for those obedient souls happy to stay within the set boundaries there are plenty of rewards and responsibilities on offer. After what would be the end of the school day at most state schools, the extended day here begins with ‘period 7’ – anything from sport to cooking, bagpipe lessons, golf, equestrian team training or ICT coding. It’s compulsory, and costs over ....

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What the school says...

TES Boarding School of the Year in 2022 and officially listed as one of Britain's outstanding schools by His Majesty's Chief Inspector, Gordon's is a unique non-selective state boarding school that recognises that a good education is not just about outstanding examination results but a thorough preparation for life; it is about developing character and confidence through great teaching and abundant opportunities to strive, do, make, perform and learn.

Founded on academic rigour, excellent pastoral care, ceremony and an enviable activity programme we insist on hard work, exemplary behaviour and relentless courtesy, at all times.

As one of Britain's most academically successful state schools, we have a proud record of commitment to the highest standards. We put great store in the widest possible recognition, celebration of achievement and intelligence to nurture individual talents and promote the understanding in every student that we are all equally different.

However, the real judgement of Gordon's is the students. All who visit are struck by the friendly, purposeful calm that pervades the school. This is no accident and is borne from self-disciplined, focused and appreciative young people. Young people who are ambitious to be the best they can be, able to think for themselves, with a firmly-held moral code based on personal responsibility, respect for others and the desire to serve the wider community.
...Read more

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School associations

State boarding school

Sports

Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.

Rowing

Shooting

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head teacher

Since 2010, Andrew Moss BA MEd NPQH. Started teaching in 1992 and has worked in a variety of boarding and day schools, including most recently a headship in a Cognita independent school. Before that he was a deputy head in Hampshire, and deputy director of studies and housemaster at Wymondham College (also a state boarding school).

He’s ‘businesslike’ and ‘no-nonsense’, say parents. While insisting he is ‘approachable’ and ‘responsive’, one summed up, ‘I wouldn’t want to mess with him’ while another said, ‘He’s straight talking and demands a high level of commitment from both the students and families – that is not for everyone so don’t even think about coming here unless you’re prepared to go all in.’ One recalled an information evening about the sixth form, in which...

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Please note: Independent schools frequently offer IGCSEs or other qualifications alongside or as an alternative to GCSE. The DfE does not record performance data for these exams so independent school GCSE data is frequently misleading; parents should check the results with the schools.

Who came from where

Who goes where

Special Education Needs

Condition Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Y
Aspergers Y
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders Y
CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia
Dyscalculia Y
Dysgraphia
Dyslexia Y
Dyspraxia
English as an additional language (EAL) Y
Genetic
Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory
Has SEN unit or class
HI - Hearing Impairment Y
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 Y
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Y
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Special facilities for Visually Impaired
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty Y
VI - Visual Impairment Y

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

Who came from where


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