Back to league tables

Lord Williams’s School

Comprehensive

National rank

392

400

Rank last year

51.4^%

A-level

22.1^%

GCSE

Need to know

Head teacher Neil Dimbleby

Attendance 88.9%

Gender of entry Mixed

Send pupils* 17.1% *Special educational needs and disabilities

Total pupils 2,290

Pupils on free school meals 14.8%

Progress 8

Progress 8 is a measure of the development a school cohort/pupils makes from year 6 to year 11. The data used is from 2024. There will be no KS2 updates for 2025 or 2026 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is consulting on an improved version of Progress 8 and Attainment 8

AVERAGE

Our methodology

Results

Grade

6.9

16.7

27.8

A*/A

23.6

A*-B

51.4

Grade

9/8

10.7

11.4

9/8/7

22.1

What the school inspection says

“Pupils are proud to attend this school. Staff have high expectations for pupils. Pupils get off to a flying start at the lower school … In the popular sixth form, students study a wide range of academic and vocational courses … Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils for life beyond school. In most subjects, curriculum sequencing enables pupils to build on prior learning. However, the curriculum in some subjects, including mathematics, does not prepare students well for further study in the sixth form. Leaders are aware of this and are taking steps to support teachers to eradicate this.”

Inspection

2022

In detail *

Read the full report

*Ofsted no longer makes an overall effectiveness judgment in inspections of state-funded schools. A five-point grading scale, including a new “exceptional” grade was introduced in November 2025.

About the school

This school’s rich tradition reaches back to 1559 when the coeducational comprehensive was founded in Thame, Oxfordshire. A royal licence dating from 1575 established a link with New College, Oxford, which still exists today.
The motto Sic itur ad astra (“Thus the way to the stars”) has guided generations of pupils to make their mark — from the 17th-century bishop of Oxford, John Fell, to the musical comedian Rob Deering.
As an Eco School, Lord Williams’s encourages its pupils to change their habits to protect the environment.
A wide range of challenging activities add colour to the curriculum. Regular trips include year 9 exchanges to France and Germany, and a year 8 camping trip. The sixth form are given the opportunity to visit Paris, Berlin, Munich and Liverpool, or enjoy World Challenge expeditions to India, Argentina, Poland, Peru, Thailand, China and Gambia.

office.4580@lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk

Telephone

01844 210 510

Website

lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk

Address

Oxford Road, Thame, OX9 2AQ

Back to league tables