Whitelands Academy
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Whitelands Academy is a free school in Bicester for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 565 pupils and room for 600. About 20 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 32 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Hexham Road, Bicester, OX26 1AY01869 716996whitelandsacademy.orgMr Haris Hussain headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 10 January 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
114 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 | Oxfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 114 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 46.4 | – | – | 45.4 | 46.8 |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 54% | – | – | 47% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 71% | – | – | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 4.26 | – | – | 4.05 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 62% | – | – | 36% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 39.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 47.5 | – | – | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 18 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.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Design & Technology (29% here, 50% across England), French (42% here, 60% across England), Business (33% here, 51% across England), Food Preparation & Nutrition (35% here, 52% 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 | 113 | 27% | 62% | 74% | 53% | 827 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 113 | 15% | 57% | 79% | 54% | 1,232 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 112 | 18% | 58% | 74% | 58% | 1,406 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 83 | 4% | 28% | 48% | 36% | 2,053 of 3,084 |
| History | 75 | 24% | 45% | 64% | 52% | 1,901 of 3,126 |
| Business | 51 | 16% | 33% | 59% | 51% | 1,376 of 1,806 |
| Physical Education | 47 | 19% | 55% | 66% | 56% | 807 of 1,559 |
| Spanish | 40 | 10% | 40% | 53% | 54% | 1,472 of 1,941 |
| Geography | 40 | 28% | 55% | 70% | 51% | 1,072 of 3,116 |
| French | 33 | 21% | 42% | 52% | 60% | 1,577 of 1,974 |
| Biology | 28 | 39% | 75% | 93% | 82% | 1,829 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 27 | 33% | 74% | 96% | 81% | 1,808 of 2,537 |
| Physics | 27 | 44% | 85% | 100% | 82% | 1,368 of 2,546 |
| Computer Science | 26 | 19% | 46% | 58% | 56% | 1,168 of 1,861 |
| Art and Design | 24 | 17% | 50% | 58% | 58% | 1,833 of 2,818 |
| Design & Technology | 17 | 24% | 29% | 41% | 50% | – |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 17 | 0% | 35% | 71% | 52% | – |
| Drama | 10 | 20% | 70% | 70% | 60% | – |
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. 2 of the 3 gaps are 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 grown by 137% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
The last child to get a place lived 2.5 miles away in 2026, 0.8 miles away in 2024, 0.9 miles away in 2023. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 2.5 miles from the school, under the feeder school rule. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year. 161 families put it down as their first choice and 114 of them got in (71%).
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | First choices who got in | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 120 | 161 | 336 | 120 | 71% | 2.5 miles (feeder school) | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 120 | 111 | 292 | 115 | 100% | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 120 | 160 | 364 | 120 | 73% | 0.8 miles | LA |
| 2023 Secondary | 120 | 171 | 389 | 120 | 68% | 0.9 miles | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 120 | 181 | 332 | 120 | 65% | 1.1 miles | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 120 | 153 | 288 | 120 | 77% | 2.8 miles | LA |
| 2020 Secondary | 120 | – | – | 102 | – | – all offered | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
What a home within 0.8 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
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, social, emotional and mental health.
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (42), Moderate learning difficulty (30), Autistic spectrum disorder (29), Specific learning difficulty (27), language and communications needs (5), Physical disability (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 565 | 575 | 467 | 361 | 242 | 110 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 20% | 18% | 19% | 19% | 15% | 12% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 20% | 18% | 16% | 13% | 11% | 10% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 23% | 28% | 29% | 28% | 31% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 5% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.1% 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 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 9.9% | 9.7% | 8.1% | 6.9% | 2.1% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.6% | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.9% | 1.8% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.2% | 2.6% | 1.9% | 1.0% | 0.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 24.3% | 27.4% | 23.8% | 19.8% | 4.2% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 20.9 | 32.6 | 24.7 | 15.7 | 9.1 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 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 Bicester School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 1,176 | Good 2024 | 51 | Compare |
| The Cooper School | Academy | 1.6 miles | 1,118 | No overall grade 2025 | 20 | Compare |
| Heyford Park School | Free school | 4.5 miles | 700 | Good 2023 | 29 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Whitelands Academy with the 48 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 48 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 32 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 32% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 23 to 44. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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% | in line | 0.00 | 2025 results; 114 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.7 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | in line | +0.04 | Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 114 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well below | -0.34 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.02 | 2024/25; 610 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | in line | +0.02 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 114 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 0% | no data | – | |
| 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 Whitelands Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Whitelands Academy scores 32 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 23 to 44, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Whitelands Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Whitelands Academy good at its last full inspection on 10 January 2023.
How good are Whitelands Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 54% 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 46.4, against 46.8 for England.
How many pupils does Whitelands Academy have?
565 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 600 places, so it is 94% full.
Is Whitelands Academy oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 2.5 miles away. 161 families put it down as their first choice and 114 of them got in. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Whitelands Academy?
Pupils were in school 90.1% 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 Whitelands Academy?
The average class had 25.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 33% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Whitelands Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism, social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Whitelands Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Hexham Road, Bicester, OX26 1AY
- Telephone
- 01869 716996
- Website
- www.whitelandsacademy.org
- Headteacher
- Mr Haris Hussain
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- The White Horse Federation (30 schools)
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Ward
- Bicester South and Ambrosden
- Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (new provision)
- URN
- 147872 · LAESTAB 9314017 · UKPRN 10086448
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, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Oxfordshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- 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.