Freman College

Freman College continues to demonstrate strong performance, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in 2019. The friendly environment fosters positive relationships between pupils and staff, enabling students to thrive academically and socially. High expectations from teachers contribute to students' success, particularly in external exams, ensuring that they are well-prepared for future endeavors. The curriculum is ambitious and varied, effectively building on students' prior knowledge and catering to diverse needs, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly in their external exams.
• Strong pastoral support system helps students feel cared for.
• Teachers have high expectations and deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Pupils show excellent relationships with staff and peers.
• Wide range of extracurricular activities fosters a strong team spirit.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to develop resilience and confidence.

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 Freman College attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.6% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Freman College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Freman College had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.2% 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, 13.3% of pupils at Freman College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.3% 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 2024–25 Freman College received £7,731 and spent £7,554 for each of its 1,022 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,517,000 (£1,484 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Buntingford · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Freman College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Freman College is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Freman College last inspected by Ofsted?

Freman College was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Freman College have?

Freman College has 1,049 pupils on roll.

What age range does Freman College cover?

Freman College for pupils aged 13 to 18.

Where is Freman College?

Freman College is at Bowling Green Lane, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, SG9 9BT.