The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form is performing well. It was judged good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, with outstanding sixth-form provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is part of the East Midlands Education Trust. Pupils achieve well in a culture of aspiration and form strong, trusting relationships with staff. The curriculum is ambitious and carefully organised, teachers have strong subject knowledge, and pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, and pupils who need reading support are increasingly well supported. Behaviour is respectful, attendance is carefully monitored, and pupils benefit from wider opportunities and a strong personal development offer. Sixth-form students are exceptionally well provided for, with impressive engagement in learning, leadership roles, and preparation for their next steps. The main area for improvement is that pupils do not consistently receive the guidance and learning opportunities they need to master the most complex parts of the curriculum, which means they do not always achieve as well as they could. Leaders are also aware that a small number of pupils would appreciate more guidance about the world of work, and that opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual understanding are not as consistent as other aspects of personal development. Staff enjoy working at the school, and trust, governance, and school leaders work closely together.

Strengths

• A strong culture of aspiration helps pupils achieve well.
• Pupils form strong, trusting relationships with supportive staff.
• Staff have high expectations for behaviour and use clear reward systems.
• Sixth-form provision is outstanding, with an impressive appetite for learning.
• Sixth-form students are proud of their community and support one another.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully organised.
• Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and provide clear explanations.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are better supported to access the curriculum.
• Pupils who have fallen behind in reading benefit from personalised support.
• Pupils demonstrate respectful behaviour and most attend well.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and understand fundamental British values.
• Pupils receive helpful careers guidance and next-steps support.
• Sixth-form students have an excellent personal development offer and take on leadership roles.
• Staff enjoy working at the school and appreciate attention to workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Sometimes pupils do not receive the guidance or learning opportunities they need to build their knowledge, including when studying the most complex curriculum content.
• As a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could.
• A small number of pupils would appreciate further guidance about the world of work.
• Pupils do not benefit as consistently from opportunities to develop their spiritual understanding.

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 South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.9% 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, 5.1% of pupils at The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form 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 The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.9% 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, 3.7% of pupils at The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form received £8,138 and spent £8,013 for each of its 1,026 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £573,000 (£558 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of East Midlands Education Trust, income was £7,496 and spending £7,400 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 Nottingham · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form is part of East Midlands Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• The West Bridgford School Nottingham
• Limehurst Academy Loughborough
• Mornington Primary School Nottingham
• Larkfields Infant School Nottingham
• Castle Donington College Derby
• Kimberley Primary School Nottingham
• The Kimberley School Nottingham
• Awsworth Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Hollywell Primary School Nottingham
• Gilthill Primary School Nottingham

What is The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form last inspected by Ofsted?

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form have?

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form has 1,033 pupils on roll.

What age range does The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form cover?

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.3, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form?

The South Wolds Academy & Sixth Form is at Church Drive, Keyworth, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5FF.