Park Vale Academy
Top Valley Drive, Top Valley, Nottingham, NG5 9AZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- REDHILL ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Steve Bowhay
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Redhill Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Nottingham North and Kimberley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 950
- Pupils on roll
- 880
- URN
- 144487
- Local authority
- Nottingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01158221244
About this school
Park Vale Academy is a secondary academy in Nottingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 880 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Park Vale Academy, 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 158 | 168 | 181 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.3 | 44.0 | 42.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.11 -0.34 to +0.11 | -0.06 -0.28 to +0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 34.5% | 37% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 58.3% | 57.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 60% | 54.8% | 56.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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 Park Vale 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 | Nottingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.3 | 38.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.8 | 38.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 879 |
| 2023/24 | 897 |
| 2024/25 | 898 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Park Vale Academy compares
Park Vale Academy ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.8 | 11.2% | 44.4% | 880 | — |
| The Oakwood Academy | 41.3 | 12% | 40.4% | 737 | 0.8 miles |
| The Bulwell Academy | 36.1 | 11% | 53.9% | 1,051 | 0.9 miles |
| Redhill Academy | 50.6 | 8.2% | 24.9% | 1,582 | 1.9 miles |
| Ellis Guilford School | 37.1 | 10% | 47.6% | 1,171 | 2.1 miles |
| Nottingham Free School | 51.5 | 5.6% | 27.7% | 699 | 2.1 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)
- 44.43%
- English as an additional language
- 16%
- Overall absence
- 11.21%
- Persistent absence
- 31.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Oakwood Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
The Bulwell Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Redhill Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Ellis Guilford School2.1 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Nottingham Free School2.1 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Nottingham
Park Vale Academy ranks 28th 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 Park Vale Academy teach?
- Park Vale Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Nottingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Park Vale Academy?
- The headteacher of Park Vale Academy is Headteacher Steve Bowhay, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Park Vale Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Park Vale 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 Park Vale Academy?
- Park Vale Academy has 880 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Park Vale Academy full?
- Park Vale Academy has capacity for 950 pupils and 880 on roll (93%), 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 Park Vale Academy a faith school?
- No. Park Vale Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Park Vale Academy a selective school?
- No. Park Vale Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Park Vale Academy part of an academy trust?
- Park Vale Academy is part of REDHILL ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Park Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.3 in 2022/23 and 42.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Park Vale Academy compare with other schools in Nottingham?
- Park Vale Academy ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Nottingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Park Vale Academy's absence rate?
- Park Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 11.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Park Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Park Vale 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 10 July 2026.