The Ecclesbourne School
Wirksworth Road, Duffield, Belper, DE56 4GS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE ECCLESBOURNE SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr James McNamara
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Mid Derbyshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,603
- Pupils on roll
- 1,604
- URN
- 136505
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01332840645
About this school
The Ecclesbourne School is a secondary academy in Belper. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,604 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Ecclesbourne School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 240 | 238 | 238 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.3 | 57.2 | 58.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.34 +0.15 to +0.52 | +0.41 +0.22 to +0.59 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 67% | 69.3% | 71% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 85.7% | 86.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 69% | 63.9% | 64.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
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 The Ecclesbourne School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56.3 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.2 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.3 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,607 |
| 2023/24 | 1,573 |
| 2024/25 | 1,576 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Ecclesbourne School compares
The Ecclesbourne School ranked 2nd of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.3 | 5.8% | 8.3% | 1,604 | — |
| Allestree Woodlands School | 46.5 | 7.8% | 21.9% | 1,373 | 2.2 miles |
| Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy | 45.3 | 7.2% | 31.8% | 1,465 | 2.9 miles |
| Belper School and Sixth Form Centre | 44.3 | 8.1% | 21.6% | 1,212 | 3.1 miles |
| John Flamsteed Community School | 53.3 | 7% | 18.9% | 850 | 3.4 miles |
| Da Vinci Academy | 34.7 | 8.5% | 56.7% | 668 | 3.6 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)
- 8.29%
- English as an additional language
- 1.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.83%
- Persistent absence
- 12.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Allestree Woodlands School2.2 miles
Secondary · Derby
-
Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy2.9 miles
Secondary · Derby
-
Belper School and Sixth Form Centre3.1 miles
Secondary · Belper
-
John Flamsteed Community School3.4 miles
Secondary · Ripley
-
Da Vinci Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Derby
Other schools in Belper
- Belper School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- Ambergate Primary School Primary
- Duffield the Meadows Primary School Primary
- Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Heage Primary School Primary
- Herbert Strutt Primary School Primary
- Holbrook Church of England Primary School Primary
- Kilburn Junior School Primary
- Long Row Primary School Primary
- Milford Primary School Primary
- Pottery Primary School Primary
- St Elizabeth's Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Ecclesbourne School teach?
- The Ecclesbourne School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Belper.
- Who is the headteacher of The Ecclesbourne School?
- The headteacher of The Ecclesbourne School is Mr James McNamara, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Ecclesbourne School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Ecclesbourne School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Ecclesbourne School?
- The Ecclesbourne School has 1,604 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Ecclesbourne School full?
- The Ecclesbourne School has capacity for 1,603 pupils and 1,604 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 The Ecclesbourne School a faith school?
- No. The Ecclesbourne School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Ecclesbourne School a selective school?
- No. The Ecclesbourne School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Ecclesbourne School part of an academy trust?
- The Ecclesbourne School is part of THE ECCLESBOURNE SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Ecclesbourne School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56.3 in 2022/23 and 58.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Ecclesbourne School compare with other schools in Derbyshire?
- The Ecclesbourne School ranked 2nd of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Ecclesbourne School's absence rate?
- The Ecclesbourne School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Ecclesbourne School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Ecclesbourne School'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.