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Grove Parish Church (St John the Baptist)Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
CSchool Grade
Schools in Grove · DfE, Ofsted

Grove’s state schools get lower results than 65% of towns in England

Across their best eight GCSEs, pupils in Grove score 43.4 on Attainment 8, below both Oxfordshire’s towns (45.5) and towns in England (45.9). 3 state-funded schools are located in Grove’s built-up area. Grove grades C for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #25 of 38 in Oxfordshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.

State schools
3
2 primary, 1 secondary
Reading, writing & maths
59%
meet the expected standard at 11 · 2023–25
England’s schools: 62%
Attainment 8
43.4
GCSE average across 8 subjects · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47.3
Grade 5+ English & maths
44%
a strong pass in both · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47%

Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.

School Grade

Grove grades C for schools

Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.

Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (59% meet the standard)Better than 36% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (43.4 and 44%)Better than 38% of towns in England

The primary figure: 2 primaries in the town, 255 pupils in results over three years. Grove has no secondaries of its own with GCSE results, so the secondary figure uses the 1 graded secondary in and within 3 km of the town (264 pupils in results). Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.

Map

Where Grove’s 3 state schools are

Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Grove’s built-up area.

PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter

Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.

Getting a place

How school places work in Grove

Oxfordshire County Council handles applications for every state school in Grove, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.

Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.

When a school is full

Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 2 of Grove’s 3 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.

Useful: Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) · Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK) · How admissions criteria work

How full each school is

Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 1 school is at or over it.

Millbrook incl. nursery115%
Grove87%
St Johns incl. nursery30%

DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.

The schools

3 state schools in Grove

Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.

Letters of Grove’s schoolsA 0B 1C 0D 11 without a letter

Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspections

Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.

Good 1Ungraded inspection only 1No published grade 1

Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.

Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 0 of Grove’s 3 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.

Who runs them

2 academy trusts

Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.

Run bySchoolsPupilsTheir letters
Cambrian Learning TrustMillbrook, St Johns2809B
Oxford Diocesan Schools TrustGrove1182D
After 16

Where Grove’s teenagers go at 16

In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.

The state secondary in Grove teaches 11 to 16. The nearest college is Abingdon and Witney College, a further-education college 7.8 miles away.

Secondaries with a sixth form
0 of 1
state schools in Grove
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: Abingdon and Witney College
Grammar schools in Oxfordshire
0
no selective state secondaries
Towns its size

242nd of 384 English towns of 6,000 to 11,000

Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Grove, and the top and bottom of the group.

#TownSchoolsKS2Attainment 8Grade 5+ E&M
1Bowdon Greater ManchesterA+83%78.499%
…
238Cawston WarwickshireC+55%4746%
239Malton North YorkshireC+57%4644%
240Chapel-en-le-Frith DerbyshireC+51%48.948%
241Partington Greater ManchesterC+59%44.341%
242Grove OxfordshireC59%43.444%
243Albrighton ShropshireC59%——
244Filton GloucestershireC51%48.448%
245New Mills DerbyshireC52%48.547%
246Horden County DurhamC51%48.548%
…
384Freshwater and Totland Isle of WightD−39%——
Neighbours

Grove and the places around it

Coloured by School Grade.

Wantage: B−East Challow: C+East Hanney: C−East Hendred: B+Stanford in the Vale: D−Steventon: C+Kingston Bagpuize: BWantageEast ChallowEast HanneyEast HendredStanford in the ValeSteventonKingston BagpuizeGrove
TownSchoolsKS2Att. 8
Grove
3 schools
C59%43.4
Wantage
6 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 1 mi
B−62%43.4
East Challow
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 1.5 mi
C+62%43.4
East Hanney
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 2.4 mi
C−57%—
East Hendred
2 schools · 3.7 mi
B+65%—
Stanford in the Vale
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.2 mi
D−50%—
Steventon
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.5 mi
C+60%—
Kingston Bagpuize
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.2 mi
B63%—

East Hendred has the best-graded schools nearby (B+). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
  • Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Grove: 8% (England’s average school: 8%).
  • Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
  • Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
  • Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
  • Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
  • Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
  • Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.

Questions about schools in Grove

Are schools in Grove good?

Grove’s state schools earn a C against schools across England: primary results beat 36% of towns in England; secondary results beat 38% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Oxfordshire council.

What is the best primary school in Grove?

On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Millbrook Primary School: 65% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.

Do Grove secondary schools have sixth forms?

No. The state secondary teaches 11–16; students move at 16 to a college, a sixth form elsewhere or an apprenticeship.

How do I apply for a school place in Grove?

Through Oxfordshire County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).

How many schools in Grove are full?

1 of 3 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.

How many state schools are in Grove?

3 open state-funded schools are located in Grove’s built-up area: 2 primary, 1 secondary and 0 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.

Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.