School profile
The Downley School
Faulkner Way, Downley, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 5AL
Overview
The Downley School is a state-funded school (academy sponsor led) in High Wycombe, South East, for pupils aged 4–11. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.
School details
- Official establishment type
- Academy sponsor led
- Establishment group
- Academies
- Phase of education
- Primary
- Age range
- Ages 4–11
- Gender of entry
- Mixed
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Sixth form
- No
- School capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 350
- URN
- 149485
Admissions
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Academy trust or group
- OXFORD DIOCESAN BUCKS SCHOOLS TRUST
Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.
School places
DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)
- Capacity at survey date
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 378
- Unfilled places at survey date
- 42
A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data
Official admissions data
Applications & demand
Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.
2026/27 admissions · Reception
- First preferences
- 36
- Total preferences
- 75
- Offers made
- 38
Times the school was named as a family's first preference.
All recorded preference positions for this school.
Offers recorded through coordinated admissions, not physical capacity.
First preferences compared with offers
0.95 first preferences per offer
36 first preferences and 38 offers were recorded for 2026/27.
What does this mean?
This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.
First preferences over time
Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.
Admissions history
| Admissions year | First preferences | Total preferences | Offers made |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 36 | 75 | 38 |
| 2025/26 | 27 | 59 | 28 |
| 2024/25 | 44 | 85 | 47 |
Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.
Official performance data
School performance
Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.
Primary
2024/25 results
Reading, writing & maths — meeting the expected standard
- School
- 71%
- England
- 62%
Pupils included: 55
Reading, writing & maths — achieving a higher standard
- School
- 11%
- England
- 8%
Pupils included: 55
Source: Department for Education · School performance data.
Official inspection data
Ofsted inspections
Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 22 March 2022 · Published 19 June 2022
Original education inspection framework (September 2019 to August 2024)
This inspection relates to a predecessor school, The Downley School. It is not a judgement about the school under its current identity.
Overall effectiveness
Inadequate
This is a historical Ofsted judgement given under the previous inspection framework. It is not a School Nest rating.
- Quality of education
- Inadequate
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Effectiveness of leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Safeguarding was effective
- Yes
- Early years provision (where applicable)
- Inadequate
Ofsted recorded this school in a category of concern: Special measures. The official report explains what this means and what happens next.
Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.
School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.
Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school
Location
- Address
- Faulkner Way, Downley, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 5AL
- Local authority
- Buckinghamshire
Ask School Nest AI
Ask a question about The Downley School
Answers use only this school's official Department for Education record and the information the school has published on School Nest. If we don't hold the answer, School Nest AI will say so rather than guess.
AI can make mistakes and doesn't decide admissions — check important details with the school. Questions are sent to our AI provider and aren't stored by School Nest. See our Privacy Notice.
Contact this school
Parent Enquiries let families send a message straight to the school.