Nicholas Chamberlaine School

Nicholas Chamberlaine School has made significant improvements since its last inspection, moving from a status of 'Requires Improvement' to 'Good'. The school has developed a strong, ambitious curriculum that all pupils are accessing, leading to better progress in learning. Relationships between staff and students are warm and respectful, contributing to a positive learning atmosphere where most pupils behave well and feel safe. There is also a strong emphasis on personal development, with opportunities for students to engage in extracurricular activities like music and sports, enhancing their overall educational experience. Despite these strengths, the school faces challenges in ensuring all teachers consistently assess and adapt learning based on pupil understanding. This has led to some gaps in knowledge for certain pupils. Additionally, while some strategies for improving attendance are in place, absenteeism remains a key concern. Lastly, the school acknowledges the need to better evaluate the effectiveness of its strategies, particularly regarding the progress of disadvantaged pupils, to ensure all students achieve their full potential.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils.
• Highly ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Commitment to pupils' personal development and well-being.
• Opportunities for extracurricular participation.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessments to check pupil understanding.
• Gaps in knowledge for some pupils not being systematically addressed.
• Higher-than-expected levels of pupil absenteeism.
• Insufficient analysis of the effectiveness of improvement strategies.

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 Nicholas Chamberlaine School attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.7% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Nicholas Chamberlaine School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Nicholas Chamberlaine School had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Nicholas Chamberlaine School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.3% 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 Nicholas Chamberlaine School received £8,175 and spent £7,933 for each of its 1,430 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £659,000 (£461 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Griffin Schools Trust, income was £7,909 and spending £8,064 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 Bedworth · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

Nicholas Chamberlaine School is part of The Griffin Schools Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Race Leys Junior School Bedworth
• Exhall Junior School Warwickshire
• Park Lane Primary School Nuneaton
• Chivenor Primary School Birmingham
• Bramford Primary School Bilston
• Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School Worcester
• Lammas School London
• Willow Brook Primary School Academy London
• Riverley Primary School London
• Saxon Way Primary School Gillingham

What is Nicholas Chamberlaine School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Nicholas Chamberlaine School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Nicholas Chamberlaine School last inspected by Ofsted?

Nicholas Chamberlaine School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Nicholas Chamberlaine School have?

Nicholas Chamberlaine School has 1,456 pupils on roll.

What age range does Nicholas Chamberlaine School cover?

Nicholas Chamberlaine School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Nicholas Chamberlaine School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.1, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Nicholas Chamberlaine School?

Nicholas Chamberlaine School is at Bulkington Road, Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV12 9EA.