The Hart School

The Hart School remains a good educational institution characterized by an inclusive and supportive environment where pupils feel safe and valued. Leaders maintain high expectations and have crafted a robust curriculum that promotes not only academic success but also personal development through various extracurricular activities. The school's culture is built on the core values of happiness, ambition, resilience, and tolerance, which pupils embrace in their daily interactions. Recent improvements in the behavior policy and curriculum show a commitment to excellence and the well-being of all students.

Strengths

• Strong leadership with high expectations for pupils.
• Inclusive environment that supports individual needs.
• Positive relationships between staff and students.
• Wide variety of extracurricular activities available.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Calm and orderly classrooms with positive attitudes to learning.
• Focus on reading and promoting literacy across subjects.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not adapt teaching methods to meet all pupils' needs.
• Low uptake of modern foreign languages at key stage 4.

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 The Hart School attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.3% 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, 10.1% of pupils at The Hart School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 9 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 The Hart School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.7% 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, 15.5% of pupils at The Hart School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.2% 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 2024–25 The Hart School received £8,466 and spent £8,400 for each of its 1,217 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £874,000 (£719 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Creative Education Trust, income was £8,557 and spending £8,500 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 Rugeley · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

The Hart School is part of Creative Education Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Three Peaks Primary Academy Tamworth
• Thistley Hough Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Harpfield Primary Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ash Green School Coventry
• Ellis Guilford School Nottingham
• The Bulwell Academy Nottingham
• Queen Eleanor Primary Academy Northampton
• Abbeyfield School Northampton
• Weavers Academy Wellingborough
• Wrenn School Wellingborough

What is The Hart School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Hart School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was The Hart School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Hart School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does The Hart School have?

The Hart School has 1,157 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Hart School cover?

The Hart School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Hart School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.9, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Hart School?

The Hart School is at Penkridge Bank Road, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2UE.