The Minster School

The Minster School has shown strong overall performance across key areas according to its first routine Ofsted inspection. The school is characterized by good quality education and notable strengths in personal development and sixth-form provision, which have been recognized as outstanding. The leadership team is proactive and maintains high expectations for both students and staff. The inclusive culture of the school is well appreciated by parents, ensuring that pupils are engaged and respected. However, the school is still refining its support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which is an area that requires further development to fully meet the needs of all students.

Strengths

• Calm and orderly school atmosphere with high behavioral expectations.
• Strong pastoral care and support for students.
• Ambitious and well-planned curriculum across all year groups.
• Exceptional provision for sixth-form students.
• Outstanding personal development opportunities for pupils.
• High levels of student engagement and pride in their work.
• Strong relationships fostered between staff and students.

Areas for Improvement

• Processes for identifying the needs of all pupils with SEND are not fully consolidated.
• Provision for pupils with SEND lacks full embedding across the main school.

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 Minster School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.2% 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, 3.8% of pupils at The Minster 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 The Minster School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.1% 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, 6.6% of pupils at The Minster School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.6% 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 Minster School received £7,999 and spent £7,986 for each of its 1,618 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,723,000 (£1,065 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Minster Trust for Education, income was £6,755 and spending £6,850 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 Newark And Sherwood · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

The Minster School is part of Minster Trust for Education, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Holy Trinity CofE Infant School Southwell
• Lowe's Wong Infant School Southwell
• Lowe's Wong Anglican Methodist Junior School Southwell
• Halam Church of England Primary School Newark
• Bleasby Church of England Primary School Nottingham
• Kirklington Primary School Newark
• Farnsfield St Michael's Church of England Primary School Farnsfield
• Norwell CofE Primary School Newark
• Coddington CofE Primary and Nursery School Newark
• The National CofE Academy Nottingham

What is The Minster School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Minster School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was The Minster School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Minster School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does The Minster School have?

The Minster School has 1,616 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Minster School cover?

The Minster School for pupils aged 7 to 18.

What are The Minster School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 55.5, and 63% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are The Minster School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 100% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Minster School?

The Minster School is at Nottingham Road, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25 0LG.