SchoolFacts.uk

Whitelands Academy

Secondary · Bicester · OX26 1AY

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 10 January 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

565 pupils · 94% of 600 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
19.9% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
18.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
22.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.whitelandsacademy.org
URN
147872

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 145 families named it first for 104 Year 7 places, 1.39 first choices per place. We hold 7 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2020 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 10 January 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.39 first-choice applications per place

104 places offered · 145 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

Criterion 5 (Any child attending a White Horse Federation Primary School (in Oxfordshire) at the time of application)
2.5 miles

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

114 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
46.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
71.1%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
53.5%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.3
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school46.4
Median of its 12 closest peers43.4
Oxfordshire average45.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Reach Free SchoolRickmansworth · 33 miles awayGood (2019)44.2
Iceni Secondary AcademyThetford · 85 miles awayRequires improvement39
Sir William Romney's SchoolTetbury · 46 miles awayGood (2016)44.1
Queen Elizabeth High SchoolBromyard · 61 miles awayGood39.7
Risedale SchoolCatterick Garrison · 173 miles awayRequires improvement29.8
Mullion SchoolHelston · 219 miles awayGood43.7
St Joseph's Catholic SchoolSalisbury · 62 miles awayNeeds attention40.4
North Walsham High SchoolNorth Walsham · 126 miles awayGood45.8
Sturminster Newton High SchoolSturminster Newton · 82 miles awayExpected standard46.1
The Academy, SelseyChichester · 81 miles awayGood38
Wye SchoolWye · 103 miles awayGood46.6
The Sir John Colfox AcademyBridport · 104 miles awayGood43

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
6 of 8 places taken nearly full

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 64% (Oxfordshire 64%, England 59%) · Any other White background 9% (Oxfordshire 9%, England 7%) · Asian Chinese 5% (Oxfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Oxfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Oxfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Oxfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 2% (Oxfordshire 2%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Oxfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Oxfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Oxfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Black African 2% (Oxfordshire 3%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Oxfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Oxfordshire 4%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
15.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

20.87 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Oxfordshire: 20.32 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

78% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% moved to another state school · 12% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

0% of teachers took sickness absence, 0 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £49,861; 13.9% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,241
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (6%) · supplies and services 11% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£806,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher53.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications7.5%18.1%
In managerial or professional work51.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways7.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health64.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier67.1%62.3%
Social housing20.9%17.1%
Privately rented12.1%20.5%
Detached houses30.8%22.9%
Flats9.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms39.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van10.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01035738 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£420,000130 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£342,500–£513,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (48)£560,000
Semi-detached (38)£403,000
Terraced (36)£345,000
Flat (8)£211,500

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
15an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools