Nottingham University Samworth Academy
Bramhall Road, Bilborough, Nottingham, NG8 4HY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NOVA EDUCATION TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Carl Elder
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Nova Education Trust
- Constituency
- Nottingham South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 950
- Pupils on roll
- 841
- URN
- 135761
- Local authority
- Nottingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01159291492
About this school
Nottingham University Samworth Academy is a secondary academy in Nottingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 841 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 164 | 155 | 165 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.7 | 38.4 | 40.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.36 -0.59 to -0.13 | -0.61 -0.84 to -0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 30.3% | 35.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 48% | 57.4% | 60% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 7% | 5.8% | 9.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Nottingham University Samworth Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Nottingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37.7 | 38.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.4 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.5 | 38.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 835 |
| 2023/24 | 875 |
| 2024/25 | 921 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Nottingham University Samworth Academy compares
Nottingham University Samworth Academy ranked 13th of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.5 | 13.4% | 53.7% | 841 | — |
| Fernwood School | 53.8 | 6.5% | 20% | 1,543 | 0.7 miles |
| Bluecoat Beechdale Academy | 34 | 13.3% | 67.9% | 887 | 1.0 miles |
| The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy | 55.3 | 5.4% | 21.6% | 1,182 | 1.1 miles |
| Nottingham Girls' Academy | 47.7 | 5.4% | 40.1% | 931 | 1.4 miles |
| Bluecoat Wollaton Academy | 49.4 | 5.3% | 39.7% | 879 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 53.68%
- English as an additional language
- 30.5%
- Overall absence
- 13.37%
- Persistent absence
- 34.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fernwood School0.7 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Bluecoat Beechdale Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
The Trinity Catholic School A Voluntary Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Nottingham Girls' Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Bluecoat Wollaton Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Nottingham
Nottingham University Samworth Academy ranks 33rd of the 42 ranked secondary schools in Nottingham.
- Aldercar High School Secondary
- Alderman White School Secondary
- Arnold Hill Spencer Academy Secondary
- Ashfield Comprehensive School Secondary
- Bluecoat Aspley Academy Secondary
- Bluecoat Beechdale Academy Secondary
- Bluecoat Trent Academy Secondary
- Bluecoat Wollaton Academy Secondary
- Bramcote College Secondary
- Carlton Academy Secondary
- Chilwell School Secondary
- Christ The King Voluntary Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Nottingham University Samworth Academy teach?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Nottingham.
- Who is the head of school of Nottingham University Samworth Academy?
- The head of school of Nottingham University Samworth Academy is Mr Carl Elder, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Nottingham University Samworth Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Nottingham University Samworth Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Nottingham University Samworth Academy?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy has 841 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Nottingham University Samworth Academy full?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy has capacity for 950 pupils and 841 on roll (89%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Nottingham University Samworth Academy a faith school?
- No. Nottingham University Samworth Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Nottingham University Samworth Academy a selective school?
- No. Nottingham University Samworth Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Nottingham University Samworth Academy?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy is part of NOVA EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Nottingham University Samworth Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.7 in 2022/23 and 40.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Nottingham University Samworth Academy rank locally?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy ranked 13th of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Nottingham University Samworth Academy's absence rate?
- Nottingham University Samworth Academy's overall absence rate is 13.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Nottingham University Samworth Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Nottingham University Samworth Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.