Heanor Gate Spencer Academy
Kirkley Drive, Heanor, DE75 7RA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE SPENCER ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Matt Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Spencer Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Amber Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,357
- Pupils on roll
- 1,493
- URN
- 137606
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01773716396
About this school
Heanor Gate Spencer Academy is a secondary academy in Heanor. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,493 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Heanor Gate Spencer Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 204 | 217 | 216 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.8 | 48.8 | 49.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.33 +0.14 to +0.53 | +0.14 -0.05 to +0.33 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 46.5% | 50.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 62.7% | 71.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 54% | 40.1% | 44.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
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 Heanor Gate Spencer 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 | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.8 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.8 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.6 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,341 |
| 2023/24 | 1,388 |
| 2024/25 | 1,423 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heanor Gate Spencer Academy compares
Heanor Gate Spencer Academy ranked 9th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.6 | 6% | 32.7% | 1,493 | — |
| Aldercar High School | 33.9 | 10.4% | 43% | 648 | 1.6 miles |
| John Flamsteed Community School | 53.3 | 7% | 18.9% | 850 | 2.4 miles |
| The Ripley Academy | 44.5 | 7.7% | 34.6% | 920 | 2.5 miles |
| Hall Park Academy | 43 | 7.5% | 33.7% | 867 | 2.5 miles |
| Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy | 40.5 | 8.9% | 46.5% | 984 | 3.5 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.
Inspection history
- 27 June 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report5 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 32.65%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.04%
- Persistent absence
- 14.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aldercar High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
John Flamsteed Community School2.4 miles
Secondary · Ripley
-
The Ripley Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Ripley
-
Hall Park Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Ilkeston
Other schools in Heanor
- Coppice Primary School Primary
- Corfield CofE Infant School Primary
- Howitt Primary Community School Primary
- Laceyfields Academy Primary
- Loscoe CofE Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Marlpool Infant School Primary
- Marlpool Junior School Primary
- Mundy CofE Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Heanor Gate Spencer Academy teach?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Heanor.
- Who is the principal of Heanor Gate Spencer Academy?
- The principal of Heanor Gate Spencer Academy is Mr Matt Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Heanor Gate Spencer Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heanor Gate Spencer 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 many pupils are at Heanor Gate Spencer Academy?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy has 1,493 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Heanor Gate Spencer Academy full?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy has capacity for 1,357 pupils and 1,493 on roll (110%), 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 Heanor Gate Spencer Academy a faith school?
- No. Heanor Gate Spencer Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Heanor Gate Spencer Academy a selective school?
- No. Heanor Gate Spencer Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Heanor Gate Spencer Academy part of an academy trust?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy is part of THE SPENCER ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Heanor Gate Spencer Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.8 in 2022/23 and 49.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heanor Gate Spencer Academy compare with other schools in Derbyshire?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy ranked 9th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heanor Gate Spencer Academy's absence rate?
- Heanor Gate Spencer Academy's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heanor Gate Spencer Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heanor Gate Spencer 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.