John Taylor Free School
Branston Road, Tatenhill, Burton-on-Trent, DE13 9SA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- JOHN TAYLOR MAT
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sophie Martin
- Sponsor
- John Taylor MAT
- Constituency
- Lichfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,550
- Pupils on roll
- 1,315
- URN
- 145889
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01283247823
About this school
John Taylor Free School is a secondary academy in Burton-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,315 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Taylor 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. 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
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 197 | 223 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.5 | 43.8 | 46.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.06 -0.14 to +0.26 | -0.30 -0.49 to -0.11 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 41.3% | 48% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 64.1% | 67.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 92% | 87.4% | 87.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
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 John Taylor 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.5 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.8 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.4 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,141 |
| 2023/24 | 1,258 |
| 2024/25 | 1,330 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Taylor Free School compares
John Taylor Free School ranked 20th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire 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 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.4 | 7.7% | 22.5% | 1,315 | — |
| Paget High School | 38.5 | 8.9% | 29.8% | 606 | 1.3 miles |
| John Taylor High School | 54.8 | 4.9% | 9.3% | 1,523 | 2.4 miles |
| Paulet High School | 41 | 7.9% | 26.2% | 915 | 3.0 miles |
| Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy | 46.7 | 6.3% | 23.4% | 632 | 3.0 miles |
| Abbot Beyne School | 39.4 | 10.1% | 33% | 834 | 3.2 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)
- 22.48%
- English as an additional language
- 24.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.7%
- Persistent absence
- 24.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Paget High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Burton-on-Trent
-
John Taylor High School2.4 miles
Secondary · Burton-on-Trent
-
Paulet High School3.0 miles
Secondary · Burton-on-Trent
-
Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · Burton-on-Trent
-
Abbot Beyne School3.2 miles
Secondary · Burton-on-Trent
Other schools in Burton-on-Trent
John Taylor Free School ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Burton-on-Trent.
- Abbot Beyne School Secondary
- Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy Secondary
- John Taylor High School Secondary
- Paget High School Secondary
- Paulet High School Secondary
- The de Ferrers Academy Secondary
- All Saints Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
- All Saints CofE (C) Primary School Primary
- Branston Locks Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Burton Fields School Primary
- Christ Church Primary School Primary
- Edge Hill Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Taylor Free School teach?
- John Taylor Free School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Burton-on-Trent.
- Who is the headteacher of John Taylor Free School?
- The headteacher of John Taylor Free School is Mrs Sophie Martin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Taylor Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Taylor 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 John Taylor Free School?
- John Taylor Free School has 1,315 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is John Taylor Free School full?
- John Taylor Free School has capacity for 1,550 pupils and 1,315 on roll (85%), 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 John Taylor Free School a faith school?
- No. John Taylor Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is John Taylor Free School part of an academy trust?
- John Taylor Free School is part of JOHN TAYLOR MAT. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Taylor Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.5 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 John Taylor Free School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- John Taylor Free School ranked 20th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire 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 18% 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 Taylor Free School's absence rate?
- John Taylor Free School's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Taylor Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Taylor 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 10 July 2026.