The Elizabethan Academy
Hallcroft Road, Retford, DN22 7PY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ELIZABETHAN ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Tom Crowther
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Bassetlaw
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,458
- Pupils on roll
- 1,230
- URN
- 138076
- Local authority
- Nottinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01777713700
About this school
The Elizabethan Academy is a secondary academy in Retford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,230 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. 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- 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 | 164 | 206 | 211 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.6 | 37.6 | 41.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.49 -0.71 to -0.27 | -0.46 -0.65 to -0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 25.7% | 35.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 51.5% | 55% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 18.4% | 21.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
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 Elizabethan 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 | Nottinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38.6 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.6 | 39.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.1 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,137 |
| 2023/24 | 1,201 |
| 2024/25 | 1,202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Elizabethan Academy compares
The Elizabethan Academy ranked 33rd of 44 secondary schools in Nottinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 42% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.1 | 9.1% | 25.7% | 1,230 | — |
| Retford Oaks Academy | 40.1 | 9.7% | 32.5% | 1,080 | 0.7 miles |
| Tuxford Academy | 46 | 9.1% | 21.9% | 1,462 | 7.4 miles |
| Outwood Academy Valley | 50.4 | 8.5% | 22.6% | 1,721 | 7.4 miles |
| Outwood Academy Portland | 47.9 | 9.9% | 28.8% | 1,706 | 7.4 miles |
| The Dukeries Academy | 34.8 | 10.2% | 42.3% | 709 | 8.7 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)
- 25.69%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.12%
- Persistent absence
- 26.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Retford Oaks Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Retford
-
Tuxford Academy7.4 miles
Secondary · Newark
-
Outwood Academy Valley7.4 miles
Secondary · Worksop
-
Outwood Academy Portland7.4 miles
Secondary · Worksop
-
The Dukeries Academy8.7 miles
Secondary · Newark
Other schools in Retford
- Retford Oaks Academy Secondary
- Bracken Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Clarborough Primary School Primary
- Elkesley Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Gamston St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Leverton Church of England Academy Primary
- North Wheatley Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ordsall Primary School Primary
- Rampton Primary School Primary
- Ranby CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Elizabethan Academy teach?
- The Elizabethan Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Retford.
- Who is the principal of The Elizabethan Academy?
- The principal of The Elizabethan Academy is Tom Crowther, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Elizabethan Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Elizabethan 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 The Elizabethan Academy?
- The Elizabethan Academy has 1,230 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Elizabethan Academy full?
- The Elizabethan Academy has capacity for 1,458 pupils and 1,230 on roll (84%), 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 The Elizabethan Academy a faith school?
- No. The Elizabethan Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Elizabethan Academy a selective school?
- No. The Elizabethan Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Elizabethan Academy?
- The Elizabethan Academy is part of THE ELIZABETHAN ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Elizabethan Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.6 in 2022/23 and 41.1 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 Elizabethan Academy rank locally?
- The Elizabethan Academy ranked 33rd of 44 secondary schools in Nottinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 42% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% 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 Elizabethan Academy's absence rate?
- The Elizabethan Academy's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Elizabethan Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Elizabethan 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.