How close do I need to live to get into Valley Road School?

0.477 miles was enough in 2026/27, which makes it the best evidence available rather than a promise about next year. The distance moves every year with the number of applications.

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Valley Road School

Community school in Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1RR.

How far it admitted from

0.477 miles

In the 2026/27 admissions round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Valley Road School lived 0.477 miles from the school. Published by Oxfordshire.

This is not a catchment area. Most English schools do not have one. When a school is oversubscribed, places are offered outward from it until they run out, so the distance changes every year with how many children applied and where they lived. A figure of 0.477 miles last year does not guarantee a place at 0.477 miles this year, and living closer than that is not a guarantee either. Treat it as the best available evidence, not a boundary.

How the school is doing

Meeting the expected standard	94.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
Free school meals	4.2% of pupils eligible

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Checking a specific address

The distance that matters is the one from this school to the front door you are considering. Put the postcode in and the report works it out, alongside flood risk, sold prices, crime and thirty-odd other checks on the same address.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Valley Road School?

It does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, when it is oversubscribed it offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer is that the furthest child admitted in 2026/27 lived 0.477 miles away, according to Oxfordshire.

How close do I need to live to get a place?

Nobody can tell you that in advance, and anyone who says otherwise is guessing. The distance moves every year with the number of applications. 0.477 miles was enough last year, which makes it the best evidence available, not a promise about next year.

Does buying a house nearby guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and sometimes faith or aptitude criteria ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached at all. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Admission distance published by Oxfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.