The Suthers School
Cross Lane, Fernwood, Newark, NG24 3NH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NOVA EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Watkin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Nova Education Trust
- Constituency
- Newark
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 830
- Pupils on roll
- 684
- URN
- 144768
- Local authority
- Nottinghamshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01636957690
About this school
The Suthers School is a secondary academy in Newark. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 684 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. 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 | 50 | 72 | 123 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.7 | 41.4 | 46.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.55 to +0.24 | -0.20 -0.54 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 44.4% | 52% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 63.9% | 76.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 40% | 22.2% | 21.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
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 Suthers 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 | Nottinghamshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.7 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.4 | 39.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.4 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 484 |
| 2023/24 | 564 |
| 2024/25 | 652 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Suthers School compares
The Suthers School ranked 22nd of 44 secondary schools in Nottinghamshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.4 | 9.5% | 26.1% | 684 | — |
| The Newark Academy | 45.4 | 7.6% | 26.6% | 1,164 | 1.5 miles |
| Magnus Church of England Academy | 35.7 | 10.1% | 45.9% | 678 | 2.1 miles |
| The Priory Belvoir Academy | 46.3 | 7.3% | 16.3% | 672 | 7.3 miles |
| Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn | 39.8 | 8.8% | 23.4% | 1,015 | 8.9 miles |
| Toot Hill School | 55.9 | 6.6% | 15.8% | 1,838 | 9.8 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)
- 26.07%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.49%
- Persistent absence
- 26.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Newark Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Newark
-
Magnus Church of England Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Newark
-
The Priory Belvoir Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn8.9 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
Toot Hill School9.8 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Newark
The Suthers School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Newark.
- Magnus Church of England Academy Secondary
- The Dukeries Academy Secondary
- The Newark Academy Secondary
- Tuxford Academy Secondary
- All Saints Anglican/Methodist Primary School Primary
- Barnby Road Academy Primary and Nursery school Primary
- Bilsthorpe Flying High Academy Primary
- Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D. Academy Primary
- Caunton Dean Hole CofE Primary School Primary
- Chuter Ede Primary School Primary
- Coddington CofE Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Dunham-on-Trent CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Suthers School teach?
- The Suthers School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Newark.
- Who is the headteacher of The Suthers School?
- The headteacher of The Suthers School is Mrs Nicola Watkin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Suthers School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Suthers 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 big is The Suthers School?
- The Suthers School has 684 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Suthers School full?
- The Suthers School has capacity for 830 pupils and 684 on roll (82%), 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 Suthers School a faith school?
- No. The Suthers School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Suthers School a selective school?
- No. The Suthers School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Suthers School?
- The Suthers 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 The Suthers School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.7 in 2022/23 and 46.4 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 Suthers School rank locally?
- The Suthers School ranked 22nd of 44 secondary schools in Nottinghamshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% 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 Suthers School's absence rate?
- The Suthers School's overall absence rate is 9.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Suthers School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Suthers 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 10 July 2026.