Nottingham Free School

Nottingham · NG5 1EB

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 699 pupils, 27.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10.7% on SEN support Behaviour 5.6% absence rate Staff 24% turnover Financials £7,652 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Nottingham Free School

General Information

Address: The Courtaulds Building, 290 Haydn Road, Nottingham, NG5 1EB – View on map
Phone: 01158964949
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr Jo Simpson
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 185 families put it first for 120 places – 15 for every 10 places. 61% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 120 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 16 · 2024 15 · 2025 14 · 2026 15
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

699 pupils out of 626 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 169
% eligible for free school meals: 27.8%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (similar to the Nottingham average)
English as an additional language: 16% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 24% a year (Nottingham 18.9%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 25% moved to another school, 75% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Nottingham: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 38 (1.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
Suspensions for bullying: 27 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 24 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Nottingham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 12.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 23 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 19 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 51.5
Compared with the area: 7.4 points above the Nottingham average (44.1)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+4.2 points against an expected 47.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 79% (Nottingham 61%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolNottingham averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 7.4 points above the Nottingham average (44.1).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

3rd of 16 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8

#1The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy55.3
#2Fernwood School53.8
#3Nottingham Free School51.5
#4Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology51.1
#5Bluecoat Wollaton Academy49.4

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy55.3
#2Fernwood School53.8
#3Nottingham Free School51.5
#4Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology51.1
#5Bluecoat Wollaton Academy49.4
#6Bluecoat Aspley Academy48.6
#7Nottingham Girls' Academy47.7
#8The Wells Academy43.1
#9Park Vale Academy42.8
#10Nottingham Academy42.1
#11Nottingham University Samworth Academy40.5
#12Farnborough Spencer Academy38.9
#13Djanogly City Academy38.0
#14Ellis Guilford School37.1
#15The Bulwell Academy36.1
#16Bluecoat Beechdale Academy34.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 92.0%
Went into further education: 92.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
Spanish
Business Studies
History
Art & Design
Religious Studies
Computer Science
Physics (General)
Food Technology
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Sports Studies
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
D & T
Russian
Turkish
Portuguese
Polish
Urdu
Punjabi
Statistics

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

9th of 13 secondary schools in Nottingham for Ofsted rating

#7Ellis Guilford SchoolGood
#8Farnborough Spencer AcademyGood
#9Nottingham Free SchoolGood
#10Nottingham University Academy of Science and TechnologyGood
#11Nottingham University Samworth AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Bluecoat Wollaton AcademyOutstanding
#2Fernwood SchoolOutstanding
#3Nottingham Girls' AcademyOutstanding
#4Bluecoat Aspley AcademyGood
#5Bluecoat Beechdale AcademyGood
#6Bluecoat Trent AcademyGood
#7Ellis Guilford SchoolGood
#8Farnborough Spencer AcademyGood
#9Nottingham Free SchoolGood
#10Nottingham University Academy of Science and TechnologyGood
#11Nottingham University Samworth AcademyGood
#12Park Vale AcademyGood
#13The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary AcademyGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,652 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

10th of 17 secondary schools in Nottingham for spending per pupil

#8Nottingham Girls' Academy£8,120
#9Nottingham Academy£7,686
#10Nottingham Free School£7,652
#11Bluecoat Beechdale Academy£7,629
#12Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology£7,303

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1The Bulwell Academy£10,245
#2Ellis Guilford School£9,337
#3Farnborough Spencer Academy£8,865
#4The Wells Academy£8,441
#5Nottingham University Samworth Academy£8,329
#6Park Vale Academy£8,308
#7Djanogly City Academy£8,181
#8Nottingham Girls' Academy£8,120
#9Nottingham Academy£7,686
#10Nottingham Free School£7,652
#11Bluecoat Beechdale Academy£7,629
#12Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology£7,303
#13Bluecoat Aspley Academy£7,202
#14Bluecoat Wollaton Academy£7,086
#15Fernwood School£7,048
#16The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy£7,032
#17Bluecoat Trent Academy£6,234

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Nottingham: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered