Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #36 in Buckinghamshire public Top 42% UK

William Harding School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

person Miss Trudy Cotchin (Headteacher)

location_onAylesbury, HP21 9TJ

language Visit Website phone 01296421733

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2022

groups

Students

821

school

Expected Standard

67%

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Demand Ratio

1.0x

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William Harding School is a Community school primary school in Aylesbury, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 42% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

William Harding School is a community school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 798 pupils on roll, of whom 20% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 7% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #36 of 141 primaries in Buckinghamshire and #4,069 of 14,159 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2022. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 23.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 1.4 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 64%

Reading79% LA 78%

Writing72% LA 72%

Maths80% LA 74%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

65%

LA 62%England 61%

Reading78% LA 77% · Eng 74%

Writing70% LA 71% · Eng 72%

Maths80% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

59%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading74% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Writing64% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths79% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

2.2

Read

LA 0.6

1.1 to 3.4

0.0

Write

LA -0.6

-1.1 to 1.1

2.3

Maths

LA 0.1

1.2 to 3.4

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

46%

LA 65%England 65%

Reading63% LA 76% · Eng 73%

Writing58% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths60% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.9

Read

LA 0.4

-4.2 to -1.6

-5.2

Write

LA -1.0

-6.4 to -4.0

-3.5

Maths

LA -0.4

-4.7 to -2.4

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

48%

LA 65%

Reading69% LA 78%

Writing70% LA 77%

Maths58% LA 74%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.1

Read

LA 0.2

-2.4 to 0.2

-1.6

Write

LA -1.1

-2.8 to -0.4

-1.6

Maths

LA -0.4

-2.7 to -0.5

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Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Primary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	Attainment	Progress
2025	#4,069 / 14,159	#36	#5,859	#1
2024	#5,830 / 14,233	#52	#5,863	#1
2023	#5,045 / 13,940	#54	#7,452	#3,271
2019	#11,490 / 11,810	#108	#10,744	#11,490
2018	#9,935 / 10,972	#90	#9,614	#8,888

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 June 2022

Inspection Report

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20 October 2016

Inspection Report

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30 September 2014

Inspection Report

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15 January 2013

Inspection Report

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29 September 2009

Inspection Report

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22 November 2006

Inspection Report

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24 June 2002

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2022-06-07

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2016-10-20

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2014-09-30

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

1.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.0%(8 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 808 pupils. During this period, there were 13 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.6%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	808	13	1.6%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	784	10	1.3%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	833	11	1.3%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	814	6	0.7%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	780	22	2.8%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	826	21	2.5%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	821	10	1.2%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	799	17	2.1%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	798	10	1.3%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	772	15	1.9%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	773	8	1.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	788	6	0.8%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	770	6	0.8%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	766	2	0.3%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	752	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	752	5	0.7%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	730	3	0.4%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	692	3	0.4%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	690	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	691	8	1.2%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	727	4	0.6%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	723	4	0.6%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	727	6	0.8%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	754	6	0.8%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	674	3	0.4%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	670	9	1.3%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 57 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 33 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 19 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 4 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Visual Impairment 4 pupils

Physical Disability 4 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils