Melksham Oak Community School Review 2026: A large comprehensive with sixth form, strong routines, and a clear community role

Melksham Oak is the main secondary option for many families in and around Melksham, with an all through offer from Year 7 to Year 13 and a sizeable, modern site built to replace an earlier local secondary. The school opened on 12 July 2010 and later joined The White Horse Federation, giving it a wider trust network for curriculum planning and staff development.

Leadership has been reshaped recently. David Cooper is the Executive Headteacher, with Abbie Clark leading day-to-day as Associate Headteacher. That context matters because it frames the school’s current priorities, clear expectations, calmer lessons, and better consistency, while still leaving some areas firmly in “work in progress” territory.

For parents, the headline is straightforward. This is a mainstream, state funded comprehensive with no tuition fees, a structured school day, and a sixth form that is intentionally practical about next steps, including work experience, life skills, and post-18 pathways.

A big school lives or dies by routines. The most persuasive evidence at Melksham Oak is the emphasis on consistent expectations, both in lessons and at social times. The latest inspection described calm lessons and an organised atmosphere at break and lunch, supported by visible staff presence.

The school’s house system is a useful lens on culture because it shows how leaders try to build belonging at scale. In 2022, the house relaunch drew explicitly on local history, referencing nearby RAF Melksham and adopting the house names Hurricane, Lancaster, Spitfire, and Wellington. A competitive points culture is used as a lever for attendance, behaviour, and participation. For many students, that structure can make a large site feel smaller, especially when house events, tutor time, and enrichment are coordinated rather than left to chance.

The physical setting also shapes the day. The school describes itself as positioned on the edge of Melksham, overlooking the Wiltshire countryside, and highlights evening community use of sports facilities. That tends to correlate with a school that plays a civic role, not just an academic one, and it matters for families weighing whether a large secondary feels connected to its town.

The Discovery Centre (library) is one of the clearest examples of a deliberately designed student space. It is described as split across two floors, stocked with around 13,000 books, and set up with comfortable seating, study computers, displays, and structured access for reading and homework. Its after-school micro-clubs, including Lego Creations and Reading Champions, signal a school that uses quiet spaces to widen participation, not just to reward the already confident.

The published performance picture is mixed and needs to be read honestly.

GCSE performance and ranking context

Melksham Oak’s FindMySchool GCSE ranking is 3268th in England and 2nd locally (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This places outcomes below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools in England.

Attainment 8 is 39.1 and Progress 8 is -0.32, indicating that, on average, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally across eight qualifications. EBacc indicators are also low, with 4.8% achieving grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure, and an EBacc average point score of 3.27 (England average 4.08).

What that means in practice is not that students cannot do well, but that the school’s outcomes are not yet consistently strong across a full cohort. For parents, the implication is to ask sharper questions about intervention and subject consistency, particularly in the transition into Key Stage 4.

A-level performance and ranking context

At A-level, the FindMySchool ranking is 1962nd in England and 2nd locally (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This again sits below England average, within the bottom 40% of sixth forms in England.

Grade distribution data shows A* at 3.01%, A at 8.27%, B at 23.31%, and A* to B at 34.59%. England averages are 23.6% for A* to A and 47.2% for A* to B.

The sixth form offer is therefore best understood as inclusive and pathway-focused rather than ultra-selective. Students who thrive here are typically those who value structure, close guidance on next steps, and the chance to combine academic study with employability preparation.

For parents comparing schools locally, FindMySchool’s Local Hub and comparison tools can be useful for seeing how these rankings and progress measures sit alongside neighbouring options, especially when travel time and subject availability matter as much as headline results.

The curriculum narrative is more coherent than the raw results might suggest, and it has several distinctive features that are worth testing during an open event or visit.

A key theme is sequencing and clarity. The school describes common curriculum sequencing across the trust, intended to support high-quality planning and shared resourcing. The inspection similarly pointed to an ambitious, broad curriculum, with subject leaders using “big questions” to organise learning. Where this has been broken into clear steps, students can move forward securely; where the smaller steps are less defined, understanding can become patchy. That diagnosis is practical for parents because it suggests what to probe: consistency between subjects, not just overall intent.

Mathematics provides a concrete example of how the school tries to translate ambition into classroom practice. The department sets out regular low-stakes and summative assessment, deliberate retrieval practice, and interleaving of recurring themes so that knowledge is revisited rather than taught once and forgotten. Enrichment includes a Formula 1 Club and participation in the UK Maths Challenge, which adds stretch without making the classroom experience feel exclusively exam-driven.

Reading is another visible strand. The inspection describes a wider reading programme for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, alongside targeted support for weaker readers, including phonics where needed. The Discovery Centre model reinforces that approach by embedding reading for pleasure into timetabled English sessions for Years 7 to 9, plus access to themed displays and structured clubs.

At sixth form, the school is explicit that personal development and employability are part of the weekly rhythm, not a bolt-on. Dedicated RSHE time covers practical life skills and post-18 preparation, including personal finance, first aid, e-safety, and structured work experience, with mock interviews and employer engagement in Year 13.

Destination data is best read as a reflection of the school’s comprehensive intake and the breadth of pathways it supports.

For the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort (64 students), 41% progressed to university, 6% to apprenticeships, and 44% to employment. These figures point to a sixth form where progression is not dominated by a single route, and where a substantial share of students either choose employment directly or move into work-linked options quickly.

The school’s careers and personal development programme is designed around that reality. Work experience is referenced as part of the wider “world of work” exposure, and the sixth form RSHE programme explicitly frames university, apprenticeships, and employment as parallel, supported outcomes. For many families, the implication is reassuring: students who are not aiming for a purely academic pathway can still be well served, provided they engage with guidance early and keep attendance and effort steady.

For Year 7 entry, applications are coordinated through the local authority. National guidance is clear that applications usually open around 1 September and the on-time deadline for secondary applications is 31 October for the following September intake. Families should therefore treat late applications as higher risk, especially when oversubscription criteria are applied after priority groups.

The school publishes admissions policy documents for multiple entry years, including 2025 to 26 and 2026 to 27, which is helpful for parents wanting to understand how places are prioritised if the school is oversubscribed. The published admissions data available here suggests mild oversubscription overall, rather than the extreme competition seen in some urban comprehensive contexts.

Sixth form entry is more clearly date-specific. Applications for September 2026 entry open on Thursday 6 November 2025 and close on Friday 31 December 2025, using an online application route. The school states that it welcomes both internal and external applicants, so Year 11 students from other schools should plan ahead, gather predicted grades, and check subject requirements before submitting.

For families using FindMySchool tools, the Map Search is most useful where multiple realistic secondary options exist, because travel time and bus routes often become the deciding factor once several schools meet a family’s baseline threshold.

Pastoral care shows up most clearly in the “available and visible” support structures.

Safeguarding information emphasises formal child protection procedures and recording, plus a commitment to share concerns with parents where appropriate. The inspection judgement was that safeguarding arrangements are effective, with a culture of reporting where staff treat small concerns seriously and act promptly.

Targeted support is also visible through named services. The school nurse is available weekly at Thursday lunchtime on a drop-in basis, covering topics from emotional health to substance misuse and sexual health. The school also publishes information for young carers, recognising that caring responsibilities can affect attendance, homework, and wellbeing, and framing young carers as a group who may need additional understanding and tailored support.

A realistic note for parents is that wellbeing is not only about formal systems, it is also about day-to-day culture. The inspection flags that bullying is generally dealt with, but not always as promptly as some students would like, and highlights concern about derogatory language among a small minority. Those are precisely the topics to explore with leaders during a prospective visit: how incidents are logged, how follow-up is communicated, and what the school expects students to do when issues arise.

Extracurricular strength at Melksham Oak is easiest to see in the detail of what is named and timetabled, rather than generic claims.

The Discovery Centre after-school programme is unusually specific for a school website, and that specificity is a good sign. Clubs run immediately after the school day, including Lego Creations, Library Superheroes (a volunteering route), Reading Champions, and Reading Club Bistro. The implication is that enrichment is not only sport and performance based; quieter students and those building confidence have structured ways to belong.

House competition is another pillar, with points linked to attendance, behaviour, praise points, and inter-house events. In practice, that can help teenagers anchor their identity to positive routines rather than purely peer dynamics, particularly in Year 7 and Year 8 when friendships are still settling.

For older students, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award provides a long arc of personal development. Students can start Bronze in Year 9, Silver in Year 12, and Gold in Year 13, supported through weekend training walks and some after-school sessions. That creates a pathway where participation can grow with maturity, and where sixth form students can lead by example.

Trips and wider experiences are also part of the school’s stated offer. Examples previously referenced include Berlin, Barcelona, World War I battlefields, and geography fieldwork in Cornwall, plus expedition-linked travel through Duke of Edinburgh. The value for families is not the destination list itself, but what it signals: academic subjects are supported with experiences that make classroom learning more tangible, which can be particularly motivating for students who learn best through context.

The school day runs on a two-week timetable with five one-hour lessons each day plus 20 minutes of morning tutor time. Breakfast Club runs 08:00 to 08:40; the gates open at 08:25; the school day ends at 15:00.

For students who benefit from a quieter study base, the Discovery Centre is open during breaks and lunchtimes, with additional weekday opening hours and structured access for homework and reading.

Term dates are published in advance. For example, Term 3 runs 6 January 2026 to 13 February 2026, and Term 4 runs 23 February 2026 to 27 March 2026. Families should always check the current year’s published dates when planning travel, childcare, or work commitments.

• Outcomes are not yet strong by England measures. GCSE and A-level rankings sit below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools and sixth forms in England. Progress 8 is negative. Families should ask how intervention works in Key Stage 4, and how consistent teaching is across subjects.

• Some cultural issues remain a focus area. Behaviour has improved, but concerns are recorded around derogatory language among a small minority, and some students report slower handling of bullying than they would like. This is worth probing in conversations about behaviour systems and follow-up.

• Sixth form is relatively small. Published contextual information references a sixth form of around 70 students. That can mean stronger individual guidance, but it may also mean a narrower subject and enrichment menu than very large sixth forms.

• Leadership has been recently restructured. David Cooper took over as Executive Headteacher, with Abbie Clark managing daily operations. Leadership change can accelerate improvement, but parents should ask what has changed already, and what is planned next.

Melksham Oak is a large, mainstream comprehensive that puts real weight on routines, a structured day, and a wide definition of post-16 success that includes university, apprenticeships, and direct employment. The Discovery Centre model, the house system linked to local history, and the detailed sixth form personal development programme are persuasive indicators of a school trying to make scale feel supportive rather than anonymous.

Who it suits: families looking for a local 11 to 18 school with clear structures, accessible enrichment, and an employability-focused sixth form, especially where students benefit from guided routines and a practical approach to next steps. The main caveat is that results metrics remain below England averages, so the best fit is often students who engage steadily, use available support early, and gain from the school’s structured approach to learning and behaviour.