Aylestone School
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Aylestone School is a council school in Hereford for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 443 pupils and room for 450. About 30 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 7 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.
Broadlands House, Broadlands Lane, Hereford, HR1 1HY01432 357371aylestone.hereford.sch.ukMr Simon Robertson headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 9 July 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
89 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Herefordshire, County of | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 89 | 91 | 90 | 64 | 63 | 74 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 36.3 | 35.9 | 37.1 | 39.4 | 35.9 | 39.9 | 45.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.80 | -0.70 | -0.21 | -0.61 | -0.53 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 29% | 35% | 29% | 34% | 16% | 35% | 44% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 48% | 53% | 47% | 59% | 48% | 59% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 2.99 | 3.03 | 3.13 | 3.40 | 3.19 | 3.57 | 3.97 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 14% | 12% | 18% | 19% | 29% | 57% | 35% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 26.3 | 21.2 | 30.2 | 24.7 | 27.0 | 31.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 41.3 | 41.2 | 40.8 | 43.1 | 38.6 | 42.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 15.6 | 21.4 | 29.6 | 24.1 | 17.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 62.8 | 63.5 | – | 51.0 | 53.3 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 13 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Business (7% here, 51% across England), French (20% here, 60% across England), Computer Science (27% here, 56% across England), Art and Design (30% here, 58% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 87 | 14% | 41% | 66% | 53% | 2,361 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 87 | 8% | 31% | 47% | 54% | 3,011 of 3,210 |
| Combined Science | 86 | 5% | 27% | 48% | 36% | 2,128 of 3,084 |
| English Literature | 85 | 2% | 31% | 49% | 58% | 3,059 of 3,202 |
| Geography | 45 | 2% | 24% | 38% | 51% | 2,841 of 3,116 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 41 | 5% | 32% | 54% | 52% | 888 of 1,098 |
| Art and Design | 40 | 10% | 30% | 53% | 58% | 2,521 of 2,818 |
| Design & Technology | 34 | 3% | 29% | 44% | 50% | 1,169 of 1,478 |
| History | 31 | 10% | 39% | 45% | 52% | 2,329 of 3,126 |
| Business | 27 | 0% | 7% | 41% | 51% | 1,788 of 1,806 |
| Computer Science | 26 | 8% | 27% | 46% | 56% | 1,654 of 1,861 |
| French | 15 | 0% | 20% | 33% | 60% | – |
| Social Studies | 13 | 8% | 23% | 46% | 54% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Herefordshire, County of council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 6 pupils, for autism.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Herefordshire, County of with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (40), emotional and mental health (31), Autistic spectrum disorder (21), Moderate learning difficulty (13), language and communications needs (11), Hearing impairment (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 443 | 449 | 460 | 454 | 430 | 419 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 31% | 29% | 24% | 25% | 19% | 17% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 14% | 14% | 15% | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 22% | 26% | 32% | 27% | 26% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 9% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.6% | 9.5% | 9.8% | 9.6% | 6.4% | 7.3% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.0% | 6.9% | 7.2% | 7.8% | 4.8% | 5.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 23.9% | 27.5% | 31.7% | 30.2% | 17.9% | 20.8% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 21.4 | 13.9 | 21.2 | 10.9 | 8.6 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 90 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 84%, compared with 97% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 92% | 91% | 84% | 87% |
| Education | 89% | 67% | 74% | 81% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 11% | 6% | 4% |
| Work | 0% | 13% | 4% | 2% |
| Not in education, work or training | 7% | 9% | 12% | 12% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School | Church of England | 990 m | 1,089 | Report card 2026 | 29 | Compare |
| St Mary's RC High School | Roman Catholic | 1.5 miles | 745 | Not inspected | 76 | Compare |
| Whitecross Hereford | Academy | 2.2 miles | 942 | Good 2023 | 44 | Compare |
| The Hereford Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.3 miles | 647 | Requires improvement 2024 | 6 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Aylestone School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 7 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 7% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 5 to 11. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | below | -0.19 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 89 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | well below | -0.43 | Ofsted grade, 2.2 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well below | -0.27 | DfE progress measure; 89 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.01 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | 0.00 | 2024/25; 460 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well below | -0.11 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 89 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | 0.00 | 90 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Aylestone School a good school?
The figures are weak. Aylestone School scores 7 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 5 to 11, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Aylestone School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Aylestone School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 9 July 2024.
How good are Aylestone School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 29% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 36.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Aylestone School have?
443 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 450 places, so it is 98% full.
Is Aylestone School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Aylestone School?
Pupils were in school 91.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Aylestone School?
The average class had 21.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 10% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Aylestone School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Aylestone School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 92% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Broadlands House, Broadlands Lane, Hereford, HR1 1HY
- Telephone
- 01432 357371
- Website
- www.aylestone.hereford.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Robertson
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Ward
- Aylestone Hill
- Constituency
- Hereford and South Herefordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 1900
- URN
- 116936 · LAESTAB 8844015 · UKPRN 10014941
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.