Nottingham Free School

Nottingham Free School continues to perform well, maintaining a good standard of education for its pupils. The sense of community and the high expectations set by leaders contribute to a positive learning environment. Pupils feel safe, behave well, and take pride in their school. The school's curriculum is ambitious, allowing pupils to develop crucial skills and knowledge across various subjects. However, there are challenges, particularly in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, which the school is actively addressing.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and valued in a supportive school community.
• The curriculum is ambitious, enabling the development of complex ideas.
• Teachers are experts in their subjects and provide effective support.
• Pupils engage well in enrichment activities that enhance their learning.
• The behaviour policy promotes a positive learning environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not learn as well as their peers.
• Reading skills are not sufficiently developed for some pupils, impacting their 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 Nottingham Free School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 12.7% 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, 5.9% of pupils at Nottingham Free School 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 Nottingham Free School had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.1% 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, 10.7% of pupils at Nottingham Free School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% 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 Nottingham Free School received £8,068 and spent £8,020 for each of its 676 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £178,000 (-£264 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Nova Education Trust, income was £7,436 and spending £7,228 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 · Nottingham local authority: places and applications

Nottingham Free School is part of Nova Education Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Westdale Junior School Nottingham
• Victoria Primary School Nottingham
• Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology Nottingham
• Nottingham University Samworth Academy Nottingham
• Firbeck Academy Nottingham
• Kirk Hallam Community Academy Ilkeston
• Robert Miles Infant School Nottingham
• Toot Hill School Nottingham
• Forest Town Primary School Mansfield
• The Garibaldi School Mansfield

What is Nottingham Free School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Nottingham Free School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Nottingham Free School last inspected by Ofsted?

Nottingham Free School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Nottingham Free School have?

Nottingham Free School has 699 pupils on roll.

What age range does Nottingham Free School cover?

Nottingham Free School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Nottingham Free School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.0, and 61% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Nottingham Free School?

Nottingham Free School is at The Courtaulds Building, 290 Haydn Road, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 1EB.