Houlton School

Houlton School has been evaluated as good overall in its first inspection. The school is characterized by its aspirational approach towards academic achievement and personal development, and it enjoys a supportive environment where many students engage positively in their education. The school aims to ensure all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), reach their full potential through a broad curriculum and various extracurricular opportunities. However, there are some concerns regarding the consistency of behavior policy enforcement and engagement with parents and pupils about the school's vision and expectations.

Strengths

• Aspirational curriculum that includes two modern foreign languages and a creative curriculum.
• Strong emphasis on personal development and extracurricular activities.
• Effective monitoring of attendance with prompt intervention for struggling pupils.
• Professional development for staff is prioritized to improve curriculum delivery.
• Regular reading sessions to promote literacy among pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent delivery of the curriculum by some teachers, impacting pupils' learning.
• Incomplete establishment of a culture that aligns with the school's ambitious vision.
• Some pupils and parents have concerns about the fairness of behavior policy application.

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 Houlton School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.8% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Houlton School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Houlton School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.7% 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, 15.8% of pupils at Houlton School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Houlton School received £8,168 and spent £7,731 for each of its 710 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £314,000 (£442 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Transforming Lives Educational Trust, income was £7,516 and spending £7,442 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 Rugby · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

Houlton School is part of Transforming Lives Educational Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Ashlawn School Rugby
• Henry Hinde School Rugby

What is Houlton School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Houlton School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was Houlton School last inspected by Ofsted?

Houlton School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does Houlton School have?

Houlton School has 895 pupils on roll.

What age range does Houlton School cover?

Houlton School for pupils aged 4 to 18.

What are Houlton School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.0, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Houlton School?

Houlton School is at Signal Drive, Houlton, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 1ED.