Nottingham Free School
The Courtaulds Building, 290 Haydn Road, Nottingham, NG5 1EB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NOVA EDUCATION TRUST
- Head of School
- Dr Jo Simpson
- Sponsor
- Nova Education Trust
- Constituency
- Nottingham East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 626
- Pupils on roll
- 699
- URN
- 141010
- Local authority
- Nottingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01158964949
About this school
Nottingham Free School is a secondary academy in Nottingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 699 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Nottingham Free School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 November 2022, 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 | 112 | 111 | 119 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.5 | 52.7 | 51.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.09 -0.17 to +0.36 | +0.29 +0.02 to +0.56 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 58.6% | 54.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 80.2% | 79% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 45% | 54.1% | 64.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
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 Nottingham Free 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 | Nottingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.5 | 38.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.7 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.5 | 38.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 659 |
| 2023/24 | 676 |
| 2024/25 | 673 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Nottingham Free School compares
Nottingham Free School ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.5 | 5.6% | 27.7% | 699 | — |
| Bluecoat Trent Academy | — | 9.4% | 51.1% | 1,132 | 0.7 miles |
| Djanogly City Academy | 38 | 10.3% | 49.1% | 1,270 | 0.9 miles |
| The Wells Academy | 43.1 | 7.6% | 50.9% | 634 | 1.2 miles |
| Ellis Guilford School | 37.1 | 10% | 47.6% | 1,171 | 1.3 miles |
| Bluecoat Aspley Academy | 48.6 | 7.2% | 42.7% | 1,344 | 1.6 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)
- 27.67%
- English as an additional language
- 17.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.56%
- Persistent absence
- 12.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bluecoat Trent Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Djanogly City Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
The Wells Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Ellis Guilford School1.3 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Bluecoat Aspley Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Nottingham
Nottingham Free School ranks 10th 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 ages does Nottingham Free School teach?
- Nottingham Free School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Nottingham.
- Who is the head of school of Nottingham Free School?
- The head of school of Nottingham Free School is Dr Jo Simpson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Nottingham Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Nottingham Free 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 Nottingham Free School?
- Nottingham Free School has 699 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Nottingham Free School full?
- Nottingham Free School has capacity for 626 pupils and 699 on roll (112%), 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 Nottingham Free School a faith school?
- No. Nottingham Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is Nottingham Free School part of an academy trust?
- Nottingham Free School 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 Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.5 in 2022/23 and 51.5 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 Free School compare with other schools in Nottingham?
- Nottingham Free School ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% 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 Free School's absence rate?
- Nottingham Free School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Nottingham Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Nottingham Free 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.