The Bulwell Academy

The Bulwell Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in a highly deprived area, with well-above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEN support. It is part of the Creative Education Trust. Inspectors found safeguarding standards met and judged attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing as meeting the expected standard. Achievement and curriculum and teaching need attention. Leaders have made decisive improvements. Attendance has improved through robust analysis, family work, transitions and rewards, and behaviour has improved with revised systems, high expectations and falling suspensions. Pupils feel safe, valued and well supported; bullying is taken seriously. The school is inclusive, with tailored support for SEND and reading, and strong pastoral care and careers guidance. Staff feel well supported, and the community hub has strengthened local relations. However, pupils' attainment and progress are typically below national averages, and teaching is inconsistent. Teachers do not always check understanding or adapt to individual needs, leaving gaps in learning, including in writing. Persistent absence remains well above national levels, and destinations after 16 are below average. Disadvantaged pupils' achievement is close to average in some areas but their progress remains below national. Leaders know what needs to improve and have begun work, but improvement is not yet consistent.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Leaders have taken decisive action to improve attendance, with thorough support for pupils and families.
• Behaviour has improved, with high expectations and effective support reducing suspensions.
• Pupils feel safe and valued, and bullying is taken seriously.
• The school is inclusive, with tailored support for pupils with SEND and effective reading interventions.
• Leaders, governors and trustees have an accurate view of the school and work well together.
• Staff feel well supported, and leaders are considerate of workload and wellbeing.
• The community hub has significantly improved community relations.
• Personal development is broad and well-planned, including PSHE, British values and wider opportunities.
• Careers guidance and pastoral care prepare pupils increasingly well for next steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attendance, behaviour and access to wider opportunities have improved.
• Weaker readers receive effective support to catch up with peers.
• Early reading support is prioritised and effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment and progress are typically below national averages.
• Teaching is inconsistent across the curriculum, leading to gaps in learning.
• Teachers do not always check pupils' understanding well enough.
• Some pupils struggle to write clearly and accurately across the curriculum.
• Teachers do not consistently adapt lessons to meet individual pupils' needs.
• Pupils with lower attendance do not make suitable progress and have gaps in their learning.
• Persistent absence remains well above the national average.
• Overall absence remains above the national average.
• Destinations after 16 are below the national average.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress remains below the national average.
• Improvement in achievement is not consistent.
• Leaders need to strengthen teaching so pupils typically achieve well in national examinations.
• Leaders need to ensure pupils with gaps in basic knowledge and skills receive effective support to close them.

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 Bulwell Academy attended 89.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.2% 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, 13.8% of pupils at The Bulwell Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 17 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 Bulwell Academy had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.2% 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, 20.2% of pupils at The Bulwell Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 The Bulwell Academy received £9,652 and spent £9,655 for each of its 1,054 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £757,000 (£719 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Creative Education Trust, income was £8,557 and spending £8,500 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

The Bulwell Academy is part of Creative Education Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Ellis Guilford School Nottingham
• Three Peaks Primary Academy Tamworth
• The Hart School Rugeley
• Ash Green School Coventry
• Thistley Hough Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Harpfield Primary Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Weavers Academy Wellingborough
• Wrenn School Wellingborough
• Queen Eleanor Primary Academy Northampton
• Abbeyfield School Northampton

What is The Bulwell Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Bulwell Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was The Bulwell Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Bulwell Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The Bulwell Academy have?

The Bulwell Academy has 1,051 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Bulwell Academy cover?

The Bulwell Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Bulwell Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.6, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Bulwell Academy?

The Bulwell Academy is at Hucknall Lane, Nottingham, NG6 8AQ.