The Grove School
General Information
- Address: Newcastle Road, Market Drayton, TF9 1HF – View on map
- Phone: 01630652121
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Mitchell Allsopp
- Age range: 11-18 years
- Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 138 families put it first for 150 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 6 of the 150 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: Yes
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 226
- % eligible for free school meals: 30.0%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Shropshire average)
- English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 8% a year (Shropshire 14.7%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 26% moved to another school, 74% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Shropshire: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 58 (3.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 47 (2.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 12 (0.7 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 Shropshire, 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: 9.2%
- Persistently absent pupils: 23.3%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 18.5%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 61 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 36 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 27 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 8 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Requires improvement 2023 report
- Attainment 8 score: 39.5
- Compared with the area: 3.8 points below the Shropshire average (43.3)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−5.8 points against an expected 45.3)
- Grade 4+ in English and maths: 55% (Shropshire 60%, England 65%) Falling
- Data year: 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
GCSE results over time
18th of 20 secondary schools in Shropshire for Attainment 8
- #16Idsall School41.0
- #17Belvidere School39.8
- #18The Grove School39.5
- #19St Martins School (3-16 Learning Community)36.4
- #20Shrewsbury Academy33.2
Click to see the full ranking
Leaver Destinations
- In education, employment, or training a year later: 92.0%
- Went into further education: 81.0%
- Data year: 2024/25
GCSE Subjects Offered
- Maths (General)
- English Language
- English Literature
- Science Double Award
- Geography
- Business Studies
- History
- German
- Biology
- Chemistry (General)
- Physics (General)
- Psychology (General)
- Art & Design
- Music Studies (General)
- Community Development
- Spanish
View full Ofsted inspection report
14th of 16 secondary schools in Shropshire for Ofsted rating
- #12The Thomas Adams SchoolGood
- #13Shrewsbury AcademyRequires improvement
- #14The Grove SchoolRequires improvement
- #15The Lacon Childe SchoolRequires improvement
- #16William Brookes SchoolRequires improvement
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,394 (2024-25)
8th of 20 secondary schools in Shropshire for spending per pupil
- #6The Corbet School£7,844
- #7The Thomas Adams School£7,684
- #8The Grove School£7,394
- #9The Priory School£7,390
- #10Ludlow Church of England School£7,266
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)