John Watson School
John Watson School is a special academy in Oxford for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Littleworth Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1NN01865 452725johnwatsonschool.orgMr Chris Slatter headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 19 October 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
13 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of John Watson School, the school this one replaced.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
10 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way. These are the results of John Watson School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 10 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 0% | 63% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 0% | 10% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | – | – | +0.0 | -0.8 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | – | – | +0.7 | -0.7 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
† These results are for John Watson School, the school this one replaced in April 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 Oxfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties.
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 Oxfordshire with autism provision.
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.9% | 10.6% | 9.3% | 10.9% | 8.4% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.8% | 9.2% | 8.4% | 10.0% | 7.9% | 5.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.0% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 26.7% | 34.4% | 29.5% | 33.0% | 24.4% | 19.7% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for John Watson School, the school this one replaced in April 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Money
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special 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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatley Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 0 m | 52 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Wheatley Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0 m | 256 | No overall grade 2024 | 26 | Compare |
| Wheatley Park School | Academy | 900 m | 1,146 | Good 2022 | 75 | Compare |
| Horspath Church of England Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 141 | Not inspected | 58 | Compare |
| Sandhills Community Primary School | Academy | 1.9 miles | 193 | Good 2022 | 42 | Compare |
| Endeavour Academy, Oxford | Academy | 2.2 miles | 32 | Good 2022 | – | Compare |
| Garsington Church of England Primary School | Academy | 2.2 miles | 204 | Not inspected | 77 | Compare |
| Bayards Hill School | Academy | 2.4 miles | 234 | Good 2023 | 35 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is John Watson School a good school?
John Watson School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in October 2022.
What is John Watson School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated John Watson School good at its last full inspection on 19 October 2022.
How good are John Watson School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does John Watson School have?
The number of pupils is not published.
What is attendance like at John Watson School?
Pupils were in school 91.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does John Watson School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does John Watson School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Littleworth Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1NN
- Telephone
- 01865 452725
- Website
- www.johnwatsonschool.org
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Slatter
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Propeller Academy Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Ward
- Wheatley
- Constituency
- Henley and Thame
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2026 (academy converter)
- URN
- 152382 · LAESTAB 9317011 · UKPRN 10099997
- Formerly
- John Watson School
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.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, 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.