Rushden Academy
Hayway, Rushden, NN10 6AG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TOVE LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Firth
- Sponsor
- Tove Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Wellingborough and Rushden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,295
- Pupils on roll
- 961
- URN
- 146209
- Local authority
- North Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01933350391
About this school
Rushden Academy is a secondary academy in Rushden. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 961 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 | 133 | 155 | 151 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.9 | 39.8 | 41.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.01 -0.26 to +0.23 | -0.39 -0.62 to -0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 28.4% | 27.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 49% | 57% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 19.4% | 13.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Rushden 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 | North Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.9 | 38.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.8 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.6 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 852 |
| 2023/24 | 892 |
| 2024/25 | 932 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rushden Academy compares
Rushden Academy ranked 12th of 19 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% 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 | 41.6 | 9.3% | 25.7% | 961 | — |
| The Ferrers School | 38.9 | 10.2% | 20.1% | 937 | 0.8 miles |
| Huxlow Academy | 41.9 | 9.6% | 24.8% | 783 | 2.3 miles |
| Wrenn School | 40.9 | 8.5% | 30.9% | 1,537 | 3.5 miles |
| Wollaston School | 46.1 | 9% | 16.1% | 1,432 | 3.7 miles |
| Sir Christopher Hatton Academy | 50.2 | 8.1% | 19.4% | 1,440 | 3.9 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)
- 25.67%
- English as an additional language
- 11.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.34%
- Persistent absence
- 25.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Ferrers School0.8 miles
Secondary · Rushden
-
Huxlow Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Irthlingborough
-
Wrenn School3.5 miles
Secondary · Wellingborough
-
Wollaston School3.7 miles
Secondary · Wellingborough
-
Sir Christopher Hatton Academy3.9 miles
Secondary · Wellingborough
Other schools in Rushden
- The Ferrers School Secondary
- Alfred Lord Tennyson School Primary
- Denfield Park Primary School Primary
- Higham Ferrers Junior School Primary
- Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School Primary
- Newton Road School Primary
- Rushden Primary Academy Primary
- South End Infant School Primary
- South End Junior School Primary
- St Lawrence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Whitefriars Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Rushden Academy teach?
- Rushden Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Rushden.
- Who is the headteacher of Rushden Academy?
- The headteacher of Rushden Academy is Mr Jonathan Firth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Rushden Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rushden 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 Rushden Academy?
- Rushden Academy has 961 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Rushden Academy full?
- Rushden Academy has capacity for 1,295 pupils and 961 on roll (74%), 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 Rushden Academy a faith school?
- No. Rushden Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Rushden Academy?
- Rushden Academy is part of TOVE LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rushden Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.9 in 2022/23 and 41.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rushden Academy rank locally?
- Rushden Academy ranked 12th of 19 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% 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 Rushden Academy's absence rate?
- Rushden Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rushden Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rushden 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.