Desborough College, Maidenhead

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 19 November 2026 at 5pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Desborough College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.4 in Windsor and Maidenhead and 47 across England.

40% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in Windsor and Maidenhead and 47% in England.

That is down from 45.7 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.17: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 33.4, against 46.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business Studies and History.

For September 2026 entry, 48 families put Desborough College as their first choice and 493 named it as one of their preferences, for 75 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Desborough College are Altwood Church of England School (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 40); Cox Green School (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 44.8); Newlands Girls' School (1.4 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 58.9); and Furze Platt Senior School (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.6).

Desborough College's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Desborough College is one of 4 schools run by Pioneer Educational Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 174 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 23% to a further education college and 3% into work.

Of the 53 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 72% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 15% into work. 2% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

The nearest railway station is Maidenhead Rail Station, about 410 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Desborough College, 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Desborough College stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 8th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 212 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Windsor and Maidenhead (80), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Desborough College issued 19 suspensions, 3.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Desborough College are Larchfield Primary and Nursery School (0.3 miles), Boyne Hill CofE Infant and Nursery School (0.6 miles), All Saints Church of England Junior School (0.7 miles) and Oldfield Primary School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.