Rushden Academy - The School Companion

Rushden Academy

North Northamptonshire · NN10 6AG

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 961 pupils, 24.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10% on SEN support Behaviour 9.3% absence rate Staff 14.1% turnover Financials £6,837 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Rushden Academy

General Information

Address: Hayway, Rushden, NN10 6AG – View on map
Phone: 01933350391
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Jonathan Firth
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 173 families put it first for 175 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 3 of the 175 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 9 · 2025 11 · 2026 10
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

961 pupils out of 1295 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 209
% eligible for free school meals: 24.9%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the North Northamptonshire average)
English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14.1% a year (North Northamptonshire 19.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 48% moved to another school, 52% 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 North Northamptonshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 63 (2.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 51 (2.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 10 (0.4 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 North Northamptonshire, 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: 9.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.5%
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: 10.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 32 pupils
Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

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: 41.6
Compared with the area: 2.7 points below the North Northamptonshire average (44.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−6.0 points against an expected 47.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 57% (North Northamptonshire 61%, England 65%) Broadly steady
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 schoolNorth Northamptonshire averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.3 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 2.7 points below the North Northamptonshire average (44.3).

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.

12th of 19 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Attainment 8

#10Kingswood Secondary Academy42.9
#11Huxlow Academy41.9
#12Rushden Academy41.6
#13Wrenn School40.9
#14Manor School40.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Bishop Stopford School58.7
#2Brooke Weston Academy50.5
#3Sir Christopher Hatton Academy50.2
#4Prince William School48.9
#5Kettering Buccleuch Academy48.3
#6Southfield School for Girls46.8
#7Wollaston School46.1
#8Corby Technical School45.8
#9The Latimer Arts College44.8
#10Kingswood Secondary Academy42.9
#11Huxlow Academy41.9
#12Rushden Academy41.6
#13Wrenn School40.9
#14Manor School40.0
#15Weavers Academy39.8
#16Corby Business Academy39.0
#17The Ferrers School38.9
#18Kettering Science Academy37.3
#19Lodge Park Academy33.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
Went into further education: 82.0%
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
Business Studies
History
Geography
Art & Design
Sociology
Statistics
French Language
German
Photography
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Russian
Polish

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

6th of 14 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Ofsted rating

#4Kingswood Secondary AcademyGood
#5Prince William SchoolGood
#6Rushden AcademyGood
#7Sir Christopher Hatton AcademyGood
#8Southfield School for GirlsGood

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

#1Brooke Weston AcademyGood
#2Corby Business AcademyGood
#3Kettering Science AcademyGood
#4Kingswood Secondary AcademyGood
#5Prince William SchoolGood
#6Rushden AcademyGood
#7Sir Christopher Hatton AcademyGood
#8Southfield School for GirlsGood
#9The Latimer Arts CollegeGood
#10Weavers AcademyGood
#11Wollaston SchoolGood
#12Wrenn SchoolGood
#13Manor SchoolInadequate
#14Montsaye AcademyInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,837 (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.

14th of 20 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for spending per pupil

#12Corby Technical School£6,913
#13Weldon Village Academy£6,887
#14Rushden Academy£6,837
#15Bishop Stopford School£6,808
#16The Latimer Arts College£6,672

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

#1Wrenn School£10,875
#2Weavers Academy£10,233
#3Lodge Park Academy£8,428
#4Huxlow Academy£8,239
#5Corby Business Academy£7,538
#6Kettering Buccleuch Academy£7,519
#7Wollaston School£7,493
#8Brooke Weston Academy£7,356
#9Southfield School for Girls£7,227
#10Kingswood Secondary Academy£7,215
#11The Ferrers School£7,122
#12Corby Technical School£6,913
#13Weldon Village Academy£6,887
#14Rushden Academy£6,837
#15Bishop Stopford School£6,808
#16The Latimer Arts College£6,672
#17Manor School£6,524
#18Kettering Science Academy£6,477
#19Sir Christopher Hatton Academy£6,450
#20Prince William School£6,162

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 North Northamptonshire: 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