John Ferneley College
Scalford Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1LH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MOWBRAY EDUCATION TRUST LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mr Terry Claridge
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Mowbray Education Trust
- Constituency
- Melton and Syston
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,100
- Pupils on roll
- 1,170
- URN
- 137617
- Local authority
- Leicestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01664565901
About this school
John Ferneley College is a secondary academy in Melton Mowbray. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,170 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Ferneley College, 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 243 | 233 | 239 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.9 | 45.0 | 43.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.47 -0.65 to -0.30 | -0.34 -0.52 to -0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 45.1% | 37.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 65.2% | 63.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 32.6% | 27.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
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 John Ferneley College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Leicestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.9 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.8 | 36.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,178 |
| 2023/24 | 1,182 |
| 2024/25 | 1,194 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Ferneley College compares
John Ferneley College ranked 32nd of 43 secondary schools in Leicestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.8 | 9.7% | 18.8% | 1,170 | — |
| Long Field Spencer Academy | 46.1 | 10.1% | 23.7% | 930 | 1.5 miles |
| Wreake Valley Academy | 39.7 | 11.4% | 21.4% | 1,148 | 9.3 miles |
| Catmose College | 52.9 | 5.6% | 14.2% | 1,153 | 9.7 miles |
| The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form | 53.5 | 8.2% | 16.6% | 1,033 | 10.4 miles |
| The Roundhill Academy | 45.9 | 9.3% | 21.4% | 686 | 10.7 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)
- 18.76%
- English as an additional language
- 6.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.67%
- Persistent absence
- 23.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Long Field Spencer Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Melton Mowbray
-
Wreake Valley Academy9.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Catmose College9.7 miles
Secondary · Oakham
-
The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form10.4 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
The Roundhill Academy10.7 miles
Secondary · Leicester
Other schools in Melton Mowbray
- Long Field Spencer Academy Secondary
- Ab Kettleby Primary School Primary
- Asfordby Hill Primary School Primary
- Brownlow Primary School Primary
- Captains Close Primary School Primary
- Frisby Church of England Primary School Primary
- Great Dalby School Primary
- Harby Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hose Church of England Primary School Primary
- Long Clawson Church of England Primary School Primary
- Old Dalby Church of England Primary School Primary
- Saint Francis Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Ferneley College teach?
- John Ferneley College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Melton Mowbray.
- Who is the headteacher of John Ferneley College?
- The headteacher of John Ferneley College is Mr Terry Claridge, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Ferneley College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Ferneley College, 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 John Ferneley College?
- John Ferneley College has 1,170 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is John Ferneley College full?
- John Ferneley College has capacity for 1,100 pupils and 1,170 on roll (106%), 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 John Ferneley College a faith school?
- No. John Ferneley College has no designated religious character.
- Is John Ferneley College a selective school?
- No. John Ferneley College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is John Ferneley College part of an academy trust?
- John Ferneley College is part of MOWBRAY EDUCATION TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Ferneley College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.9 in 2022/23 and 43.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Ferneley College compare with other schools in Leicestershire?
- John Ferneley College ranked 32nd of 43 secondary schools in Leicestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Ferneley College's absence rate?
- John Ferneley College's overall absence rate is 9.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Ferneley College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Ferneley College'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.