John O'Gaunt School, Hungerford
John O'Gaunt School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Hungerford, part of Excalibur Academies Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 8th-highest of the 10 schools in West Berkshire with published results, and 2,143rd of 3,298 across England. It was 66% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Well below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to West Berkshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
John O'Gaunt School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at John O'Gaunt School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 49.3 in West Berkshire and 47 across England.
36% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 50% in West Berkshire and 47% in England.
That is up from 32 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.53: pupils made well 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 28.7, against 49.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 21 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and History.
Getting a place at John O'Gaunt School
For September 2026 entry, 60 families put John O'Gaunt School as their first choice and 86 named it as one of their preferences, for 65 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 trust
John O'Gaunt School is one of 20 schools run by Excalibur Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.8 in 2024/25.
What parents say
62 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about John O'Gaunt School (as of September 2025): 73% would recommend the school, 76% say their child is happy there and 63% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (79%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (63%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 82 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 71% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 46% to a further education college, 9% to an apprenticeship and 9% into work.
Who goes there
5.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 98 pupils (22.3%) received SEN support and 22 (5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Hungerford Rail Station, about 1080 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is John O'Gaunt School (adjacent), 60 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, John O'Gaunt School issued 89 suspensions, 20.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
John O'Gaunt School creates a warm, caring environment where pupils feel supported and know their voices are heard. Staff work hard to understand each pupil's individual needs and the school has made real improvements to behaviour and discipline. The school offers plenty of opportunities for pupils to grow beyond the classroom through trips, clubs and activities.
Key Strengths
- Strong pastoral support and caring school culture where pupils feel valued and safe
- Successful behaviour management creating calm learning environments
- Good support for pupils with special educational needs
- Impressive range of clubs, activities and trips that broaden pupils' experiences
- Effective careers education helping pupils understand their next steps
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistent teaching quality with some lessons not deepening pupils' understanding enough
- Pupils not given enough opportunities to develop their writing skills across different subjects
- Limited identification of pupils who need extra help with reading fluency
- Significant number of pupils with poor attendance missing vital learning
- Too many pupils not achieving well enough in national tests and GCSEs
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Plentiful trips and visits, impressive range of clubs and activities, careers education
John O'Gaunt School is a secondary school where most pupils enjoy attending and feel well cared for, but the quality of education requires improvement as pupils are not achieving as well as they should in national tests like GCSEs.
About
John O'Gaunt School is a coeducational secondary school in Hungerford, Berkshire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It was Berkshire's first community school.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
31.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
62 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.90 to -0.53 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 31.1 to 43.2 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 14% to 36% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 43.2 | 35.7% |
| Disadvantaged(26) | - | 28.7 | 3.8% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(58) | - | 49.7 | 50% |
| Boys(38) | - | 43.3 | 42.1% |
| Girls(46) | - | 43.2 | 30.4% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(80) | - | 44.1 | 36.3% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 1 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 82 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.23%
Exclusion rate
89
Suspensions
20.23%
Suspension rate
26 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 440 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Keep up with John O'Gaunt School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to John O'Gaunt School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. John O'Gaunt School is in West Berkshire; for families living there:
Apply to West Berkshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in West Berkshire is 3 (the median across 99 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at John O'Gaunt School
Will you get a place at John O'Gaunt School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against John O'Gaunt School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for John O'Gaunt School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to John O'Gaunt School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from West Berkshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at John O'Gaunt School for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in West Berkshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
437 pupils
666 places
229 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Hungerford
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Hungerford
Across West Berkshire council
Places available
2,143
Applications
1,680
Got 1st preference
94.9%
Got preferred school
99.0%
All secondary applications across West Berkshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
98
SEN Support
22
EHC Plans
27.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
439
Total Pupils
218
Boys
221
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
30
Teachers
14.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,807
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,599
Per pupil
£3634k
Total funding
£151k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.3%
Overall absence
29.0%
Persistent absence
462
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
John O'Gaunt School
Questions parents ask about John O'Gaunt School
What are GCSE results like at John O'Gaunt School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at John O'Gaunt School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 43.2. 36% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is John O'Gaunt School's Ofsted rating?
John O'Gaunt School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for John O'Gaunt School?
No fixed boundary. When John O'Gaunt School is oversubscribed, West Berkshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at John O'Gaunt School?
John O'Gaunt School was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 666 places.
How big are the classes at John O'Gaunt School?
Classes at John O'Gaunt School average 24.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to John O'Gaunt School?
John O'Gaunt School has around 439 pupils on roll. 32% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at John O'Gaunt School?
10.3% of sessions were missed at John O'Gaunt School in 2024/25. 29% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to John O'Gaunt School?
Apply through West Berkshire's coordinated admissions process, naming John O'Gaunt School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near John O'Gaunt School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in West Berkshire is 3 (the median across 99 schools, same distance and years).
Where is John O'Gaunt School?
John O'Gaunt School is at Priory Road, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 0AN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)