Caroline Chisholm School

Caroline Chisholm School is an improving institution that performs well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in multiple domains including leadership, personal development, and early years provision, which stands out as 'Outstanding.' The school offers a rich variety of subjects and extracurricular activities, particularly excelling in the primary phase where pupil achievement is strong. However, concerns arise in the secondary phase where quality of education is inconsistent across subjects, particularly in key stage 3. As a result, some pupils do not encounter the challenging work suited to their capabilities, leading to variability in academic achievement.

Strengths

• Strong performance in the primary phase and early years.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND in the specialized resource base.
• Good quality of education in the sixth form.
• Positive and inclusive school culture.
• Effective careers education and personal development programs.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent quality of education across subjects in the secondary phase.
• Key stage 3 work is not always demanding enough.
• Some disrespectful behavior among a small group of secondary pupils.

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 Caroline Chisholm School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.2% 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, 5.0% of pupils at Caroline Chisholm 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 Caroline Chisholm School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.6% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Caroline Chisholm School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.8% 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 Caroline Chisholm School received £7,327 and spent £7,193 for each of its 2,134 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,221,000 (£572 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

What is Caroline Chisholm School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Caroline Chisholm School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Caroline Chisholm School last inspected by Ofsted?

Caroline Chisholm School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Caroline Chisholm School have?

Caroline Chisholm School has 2,049 pupils on roll.

What age range does Caroline Chisholm School cover?

Caroline Chisholm School for pupils aged 4 to 18.

What are Caroline Chisholm School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.0, and 54% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Caroline Chisholm School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Caroline Chisholm School?

Caroline Chisholm School is at Wooldale Centre for Learning, Wootton Fields, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN4 6TP.