The WREN School

Free schools·Secondary school Reading·RG30 2BB
Composite score
56.0
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#1,747
National rank
#271
In South East
#7
In Reading
Top 55%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
44.8
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
41%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
60%
% EBacc grade 5+
10%
EBacc average points score
3.89

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Requires improvement
Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Requires improvement

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
70 first choices, 117 places
First choices per place
0.60
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
295
any preference, for 117 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.14
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0320220.9220230.7620240.7420250.602026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put The WREN School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–19
Pupils on roll
979
Gender
Mixed

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
29.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
51.8%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
8.5%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.1%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.2%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
29.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
15.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,968
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
88%
156 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
85%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The WREN School

The WREN School is a secondary school in Reading, classified by the DfE as a free school. Around 979 pupils aged 11 to 19 attend the school. The school holds a 'Requires improvement' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 44.8 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.8 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

41% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made The WREN School their first choice was offered one of its 117 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 88% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.2%. There are about 15.8 pupils per teacher. If you are considering The WREN School, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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