Willowcroft Community School, Didcot
Willowcroft Community School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Didcot, part of Willowcroft Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 6th-highest of the 12 schools in Didcot with published results, and 6,591st of 14,452 across England. It was 99% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Oxfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Willowcroft Community School in detail
Willowcroft Community School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to Willowcroft Community School. Some of you reading this will already know the school well, while others will have children joining us for the first time. Whichever applies to you, thank you for choosing Willowcroft and we hope that your child has a fun and productive year with us."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, athletics, dance, choir and chess.
The school runs after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils at Willowcroft Community School reached the expected standard in reading and 75% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 78% and 75% in Oxfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 90% in reading and 82% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Willowcroft Community School
For September 2026 entry, 60 families put Willowcroft Community School as their first choice and 116 named it as one of their preferences, for 58 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 4 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Willowcroft Community School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Willowcroft Community School are Northbourne Church of England Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 67% reading, 69% maths); Manor Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 61% reading, 58% maths); All Saints Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles, 85% reading, 90% maths); and Hagbourne Church of England Primary School (0.8 miles, 90% reading, 93% maths).
Willowcroft Community School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Northbourne Church of England Primary SchoolManor Primary SchoolAll Saints Church of England Primary SchoolHagbourne Church of England Primary School
The trust
Willowcroft Community School is run by its own single-school academy trust.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Didcot Parkway Rail Station, about 960 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Croft (adjacent), 90 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 137 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Oxfordshire (52), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Willowcroft Community School issued 35 suspensions, 7.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Willowcroft Community School are St Birinus School (under 0.1 miles), Didcot Girls' School (0.6 miles), Didcot Sixth Form College (0.6 miles) and Aureus School (1.3 miles).
St Birinus SchoolDidcot Girls' SchoolDidcot Sixth Form CollegeAureus School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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 · 3 years agoThis judgement is from March 2015, 11 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 March 2015 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
21.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 90% to 82% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 82% to 75% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 79% to 75% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
25.7
Avg class size
26.8
Infant (KS1)
28.4
KS2
18
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Willowcroft Community School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Willowcroft Community School.
- Didcot Kumon Centre460m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Willowcroft Community School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Oxfordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Willowcroft Community School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Willowcroft Community 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
- 14
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 12 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
3 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 Willowcroft Community School
Will you get a place at Willowcroft Community School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Willowcroft Community School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Willowcroft Community School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Willowcroft Community School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Oxfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Willowcroft Community 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
99%
Near capacity
414 pupils
420 places
6 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Didcot
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Didcot
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(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
95
SEN Support
28
EHC Plans
25.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
481
Total Pupils
245
Boys
236
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
21
Teachers
22.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£47,267
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,316
Per pupil
£2414k
Total funding
£142k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.4%
Overall absence
14.9%
Persistent absence
375
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
Willowcroft Community School
Questions parents ask about Willowcroft Community School
What are SATs results like at Willowcroft Community School?
Of the pupils at Willowcroft Community School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 82% reached the expected standard in reading and 75% did so in maths.
What is Willowcroft Community School's Ofsted rating?
Willowcroft Community School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Willowcroft Community School?
No fixed boundary. When Willowcroft Community 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 Willowcroft Community School?
Willowcroft Community School was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Willowcroft Community School?
Classes at Willowcroft Community School average 25.7 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Willowcroft Community School?
Willowcroft Community School has around 481 pupils on roll. 22% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Willowcroft Community School?
5.4% of sessions were missed at Willowcroft Community School in 2024/25. 14.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Willowcroft Community School?
Apply through Oxfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Willowcroft Community 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 Willowcroft Community School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Willowcroft Community School: Didcot Kumon Centre (460m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Willowcroft Community School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 12 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 3 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 Willowcroft Community School?
Willowcroft Community School is at Mereland Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8BA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)