The Downs School
Secondary · Newbury · RG20 6AD
Data updated
SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection
We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →
Inspected 1 October 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- URN
- 151957
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 249 families named it first for 204 Year 7 places, 1.22 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2025 entry went to 4.63 miles; distance decided places in 14 of the 17 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2009 to 2025. At its inspection on 1 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
1.22 first-choice applications per place204 places offered · 249 first-choice applications · oversubscribed
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 4.63 miles for 2025 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7
Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2025 entry) lived within 4.63 miles
measured in a straight line.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Newbury school admissions · West Berkshire school admissions
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 6/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 39.1% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 11.4% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 43.5% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 10.3% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 55.5% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 66.1% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 21.8% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 12.1% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 37.7% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 7.8% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 36.1% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 6.9% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016286 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £447,50044 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £387,000–£590,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
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
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 1a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 0a rural school averages 0.9
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