The Castle Rock School

The Castle Rock School is a large secondary school that has undergone rapid improvement since joining the Lionheart Educational Trust. Leadership and governance are a notable strength, with inspectors finding a highly strategic approach to improvement, a calm and purposeful culture, and significant positive impact on attendance and pupil behaviour. Safeguarding standards are met, and staff morale is high, supported by effective professional development across the trust.

Strengths

• Leadership and governance are highly effective, with clear strategic direction and strong trust support.
• Attendance has improved and is now above national levels.
• Behaviour is calm, orderly and positive, with respectful relationships between staff and pupils.
• The curriculum is ambitious, broad and balanced, with a strong focus on reading and writing.
• Inclusion is well managed, with early identification of needs and effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Personal development and wellbeing support are well matched to pupils' needs, with a range of extra-curricular opportunities.
• Post-16 provision is coherently planned, with expert teaching and good preparation for next steps.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are well supported, and staff are proud to work at the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is not secure, including in the sixth form.
• Teaching quality is not consistently high across all subjects and year groups.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes remain behind their non-disadvantaged peers, particularly in English and maths GCSE and Progress 8.
• The post-16 wider opportunities offer could be strengthened to further develop students' confidence and personal skills.
• Overall absence rates remain above national averages.

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 Castle Rock School attended 89.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.6% 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, 8.7% of pupils at The Castle Rock School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Castle Rock School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.5% 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, 17.2% of pupils at The Castle Rock School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 Castle Rock School received £8,025 and spent £8,054 for each of its 1,145 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,751,000 (£1,529 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Lionheart Educational Trust, income was £7,656 and spending £7,419 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 Coalville · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

The Castle Rock School is part of Lionheart Educational Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Broom Leys School Coalville
• The Newbridge School Coalville
• Greenstone Primary School Coalville
• The Martin High School Anstey Leicester
• Humphrey Perkins School Loughborough
• Hallam Fields, Birstall Leicester
• Highcliffe Primary School and Community Centre Leicester
• The Cedars Academy Leicester
• Riverside Community Primary School Birstall Leicester
• Beauchamp City Sixth Form Leicester

What is The Castle Rock School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Castle Rock School is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Castle Rock School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Castle Rock School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Castle Rock School have?

The Castle Rock School has 1,060 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Castle Rock School cover?

The Castle Rock School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Castle Rock School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.9, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Castle Rock School?

The Castle Rock School is at Meadow Lane, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 4BR.