Valley Road School, Henley-on-Thames
Valley Road School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Henley-on-Thames. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2012. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 2nd-highest of the 8 schools in Henley-on-Thames with published results, and 172nd of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.3 first-choice applications for every place. It was 81% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2012)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Oxfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Valley Road School in detail
Valley Road School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, gymnastics, multi-sports, dance, choir, Lego and sewing.
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 100% of Year 6 pupils at Valley Road School reached the expected standard in reading and 97% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 78% and 75% in Oxfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 83% in reading and 90% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Valley Road School
For September 2026 entry, 40 families put Valley Road School as their first choice and 77 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 11 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Valley Road School are Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-Thames (0.5 miles, Good, 83% reading, 67% maths); Trinity Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 82% reading, 82% maths); Badgemore Primary School (0.8 miles, 83% reading, 92% maths); and Shiplake Church of England School (2.1 miles, Good, 93% reading, 93% maths).
Valley Road School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Henley-on-ThamesTrinity Church of England Primary SchoolBadgemore Primary SchoolShiplake Church of England School
Who goes there
4.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 9.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (80%) and Mixed (6%).
In 2026, 23 pupils (13.9%) received SEN support and 1 (0.6%) 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 a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
Staffing
Valley Road School had 15 teachers in 2026, one for every 11 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Henley-on-Thames Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Valley Road HaR (sw-bound), 110 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Valley Road School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
Valley Road School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 5 years agoThis judgement is from February 2012, 14 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its February 2012 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
4.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 83% to 100% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 90% to 97% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 87% to 94% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.0
Avg class size
26.0
KS2
3
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Valley Road School
From Valley Road School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Valley Road School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Valley Road School.
- Elite Camps Henley800m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Valley Road School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Oxfordshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Wednesday 2 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Valley Road School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Valley Road School is in Oxfordshire; for families living there:
- Oxfordshire's school travel policy: Free home to school travel assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 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 Oxfordshire is 5 (the median across 369 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 Valley Road School
Will you get a place at Valley Road School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Valley Road School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Valley Road School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Valley Road School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Oxfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Valley Road School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Oxfordshire 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.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
81%
Available places
171 pupils
210 places
39 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Henley-on-Thames
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Henley-on-Thames
Across Oxfordshire council
Places available
8,615
Applications
6,903
Got 1st preference
94.0%
Got preferred school
99.3%
All primary applications across Oxfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
23
SEN Support
1
EHC Plans
14.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
165
Total Pupils
99
Boys
66
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
11.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,288
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,383
Per pupil
£946k
Total funding
£12k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
2.8%
Overall absence
1.4%
Persistent absence
142
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Valley Road School
Questions parents ask about Valley Road School
What are SATs results like at Valley Road School?
Of the pupils at Valley Road School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 100% reached the expected standard in reading and 97% did so in maths.
What is Valley Road School's Ofsted rating?
Valley Road School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in February 2012, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Valley Road School?
No fixed boundary. When Valley Road School is oversubscribed, Oxfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Valley Road School?
Valley Road School was not full in 2025: it ran at 81% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Valley Road School?
Classes at Valley Road School average 26 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Valley Road School?
Valley Road School has around 165 pupils on roll. 4% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Valley Road School?
2.8% of sessions were missed at Valley Road School in 2024/25. 1.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Valley Road School?
Apply through Oxfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Valley Road School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Valley Road School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Valley Road School: Elite Camps Henley (800m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Valley Road School's term dates?
Valley Road School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Oxfordshire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Wednesday 2 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027).
How many road collisions happen near Valley Road School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 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 Oxfordshire is 5 (the median across 369 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Valley Road School?
Valley Road School is at Valley Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1RR.
Sources: Oxfordshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)