School profile
The Downs School
Manor Crescent, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 6AD
Overview
The Downs School is a state-funded school (academy converter) in Newbury, South East, for pupils aged 11–18. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.
School details
- Official establishment type
- Academy converter
- Establishment group
- Academies
- Phase of education
- Secondary
- Age range
- Ages 11–18
- Gender of entry
- Mixed
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School capacity
- 1,307
- URN
- 151957
Admissions
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Academy trust or group
- SUMMIT EDUCATION TRUST
Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.
Official admissions data
Applications & demand
Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.
2026/27 admissions · Year 7
- First preferences
- 249
- Total preferences
- 523
- Offers made
- 204
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
1.22 first preferences per offer
249 first preferences and 204 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 | 249 | 523 | 204 |
| 2025/26 | 244 | 419 | 201 |
| 2024/25 | 259 | 546 | 205 |
| 2023/24 | 234 | 421 | 205 |
| 2022/23 | 250 | 460 | 206 |
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.
DfE has not published results for this school under its current identity.
Previous school performance
These results relate to a predecessor school that operated before the current establishment. They are not results for the school under its current identity.
| Measure | School |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths | 54.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths | 77.2% |
| Entering the EBacc | 72.3% |
| Measure | School |
|---|---|
| Average result per entry | 39.09(B) |
| Best three A levels | 41.2(B) |
| Stayed to the end of their course | 97.1% |
| Progress (value added)Confidence interval +0.08 to +0.27 | +0.18 |
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 1 October 2024 · Published 10 November 2024
Original education inspection framework (September 2024 to November 2025)
This inspection relates to a predecessor school, The Downs School. It is not a judgement about the school under its current identity.
Ofsted did not give schools an overall effectiveness grade during this inspection period. The judgements Ofsted did publish are shown below.
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Effectiveness of leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding was effective
- Yes
- Sixth form provision (where applicable)
- Outstanding
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
- Manor Crescent, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 6AD
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
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