Lady Manners School

Lady Manners School is performing overall well with a good quality of education and a strong sense of community among pupils. The school excels in personal development, with students demonstrating high aspirations and positive relationships with peers and staff. Although there have been recent leadership changes, staff express a renewed energy and focus on improving educational outcomes. The curriculum is ambitious and evolving, catering to the needs of the diverse student body, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, some students find aspects of the curriculum challenging, and attendance remains a concern, particularly among disadvantaged pupils and Year 13 students.

Strengths

• Students enjoy positive relationships with peers and staff.
• The school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities including clubs and societies.
• The curriculum is ambitious and evolving to meet student needs.
• Staff provide effective support and guidance for students' aspirations.
• Pupils achieve well, especially in the sixth form.
• The school's behaviour policy is effective, leading to good behaviour and rare exclusions.
• The school has effective arrangements for safeguarding and promoting mental health.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils' learning gaps are not fully addressed.
• Attendance issues persist, especially among disadvantaged and Year 13 students.
• Systems in the sixth form for signing in and out are not consistently followed.
• Work experience opportunities for some students are not meaningful.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Lady Manners School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.6% of pupils at Lady Manners School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Lady Manners School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 3.3% of pupils at Lady Manners School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Lady Manners School received £7,573 and spent £7,657 for each of its 1,406 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £223,000 (£159 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bakewell · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Lady Manners School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lady Manners School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Lady Manners School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lady Manners School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Lady Manners School have?

Lady Manners School has 1,405 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lady Manners School cover?

Lady Manners School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Lady Manners School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 53.0, and 63% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lady Manners School?

Lady Manners School is at Shutts Lane, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1JA.