Denefield School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · West Berkshire
Long Lane, Reading, RG31 6XY
70
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 01/11/2023
Application demand
89%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
91.1%
24.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,171
Capacity used
Over capacity103%
1,137 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
89%
1st preference success rate
185 of 209 families who put it first got an offer
208
Places offered
440
Total applications
2.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 209 | 185 | ● 89% |
| 2nd preference | 151 | 15 | ● 10% |
| 3rd preference | 56 | 5 | ● 9% |
| 4th preference | 24 | 3 | ● 13% |
| Total | 440 | 208 | 47% |
1st preference success by year
West Berkshire lets families list 4 preferences. 232 applications came from outside the council area (91 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Edwin Towill
- Address
- Long Lane, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 6XY
- Phone
- 01189413458
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Ward / constituency
- Tilehurst & Purley · Reading West and Mid Berkshire
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137777
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 19% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 5% | — | — |
| SEN support | 18% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: DENEFIELD SCHOOL
1,171 pupils · 1,137 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
01 November 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 982 pupils
Attendance
91.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
24.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.0%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.5%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 49.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.16 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 53% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 73% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.30 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 35.41 | — | — |
Average grade: B- (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 47 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 49.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 69.9% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 37.7% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.14 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 183 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 35.96 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 12.2% | 17% |
| A-level students | 60 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 181 | 17% | 55% | 73% | |
| English Language | 181 | 21% | 56% | 73% | |
| English Literature | 174 | 24% | 63% | 81% | |
| Combined Science | 151 | 7% | 37% | 62% | |
| Business | 86 | 20% | 50% | 63% | |
| History | 82 | 32% | 63% | 77% | |
| Geography | 82 | 22% | 41% | 55% | |
| Social Studies | 65 | 18% | 55% | 68% | |
| Spanish | 51 | 27% | 65% | 76% | |
| Art and Design | 46 | 33% | 85% | 96% | |
| Biology | 26 | 54% | 92% | 96% | |
| Physics | 26 | 73% | 92% | 96% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 19 | 11% | 26% | 63% | |
| Mathematics | 14 | 7% | 36% | 57% | |
| Photography | 13 | 8% | 23% | 46% | |
| Biology | 12 | 8% | 17% | 50% | |
| History | 12 | 0% | 25% | 50% | |
| Business Studies | 12 | 8% | 8% | 33% | |
| English Literature | 12 | 8% | 33% | 58% | |
| Fine Art | 10 | 0% | 20% | 50% | |
| Chemistry | 9 | 0% | 22% | 67% | |
| Physics | 7 | 0% | 14% | 57% | |
| Sociology | 7 | 43% | 71% | 100% | |
| Geography | 6 | 0% | 17% | 50% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #315 of 1,846 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 15960: Denefield School, Reading
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Applications | <3 |
| Offers | <3 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | <3 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 46% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 11% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 46% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through West Berkshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.