UTC Oxfordshire, Didcot

From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to UTC Oxfordshire, an extraordinary place where we help young people learn and prepare for their specialist careers in Science and Engineering. I feel very privileged to be leading UTC Oxfordshire. Students in Years 10 to 13 join us from across our region for an exciting and unique learning experience."

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 5pm and an open evening on Wednesday 27 January 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at UTC Oxfordshire averaged an Attainment 8 score of 33.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.2 in Oxfordshire and 47 across England.

22% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Oxfordshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 32.5.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.84: 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 27.2, against 36.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 16 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

Across Oxfordshire, 85% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 96% were offered one of the schools they named.

In 2026, families in Oxfordshire lodged 303 appeals against secondary school offers; 184 reached a hearing and 78 succeeded (42.4% of those heard).

The nearest other state secondary schools to UTC Oxfordshire are Aureus School (0.1 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 40); Didcot Sixth Form College (0.8 miles); Didcot Girls' School (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 59.6); and St Birinus School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.8).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than UTC Oxfordshire.

UTC Oxfordshire is one of 6 schools run by Activate Learning Education Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.3 in 2024/25.

Of the 117 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 42% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 54 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 30% went on to university or other higher education, 9% to apprenticeships and 37% into work. 6% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

In 2026, 95 pupils (30.1%) received SEN support and 9 (2.8%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Didcot Parkway Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is ASDA (adjacent), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood UTC Oxfordshire stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 7th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, UTC Oxfordshire issued 232 suspensions, 80 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to UTC Oxfordshire are Didcot Primary Academy (0.2 miles), Aureus Primary School (0.4 miles), Stephen Freeman Primary School (0.6 miles) and Manor Primary School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.