Wollaston School

Wollaston School has performed well in its first inspection, achieving a good overall effectiveness rating. The school's environment is characterized by a strong sense of pride among staff and students, who engage positively with a well-planned curriculum. Strong relationships between pupils and teachers, combined with high expectations set by leaders, contribute to an inclusive ethos where pupils feel safe and respected. While the school boasts notable strengths in behaviour, personal development, and leadership, there remain areas for improvement, particularly in the delivery of the curriculum and support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils work hard and display positive attitudes towards their learning.
• The school has strong pastoral care, creating a safe environment for students.
• Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that promotes well-rounded education.
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge and provide beneficial feedback.
• Pupils are involved in leadership opportunities and support charitable causes.
• There is a clear behaviour policy that is applied consistently across the school.
• The school has effective arrangements for careers advice and guidance.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not consistently identify gaps in pupils' understanding or address misconceptions.
• Expectations for the work produced in some lessons are not always high enough.
• The provision for some pupils with SEND needs further improvement to support their progress.

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 Wollaston School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.3% 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, 6.3% of pupils at Wollaston School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Wollaston School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.2% 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, 14.0% of pupils at Wollaston School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 13 pupils.

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 Wollaston School received £7,387 and spent £7,582 for each of its 1,431 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,255,000 (£877 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of The Nene Valley Partnership, income was £7,067 and spending £7,207 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 Wellingborough · North Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Wollaston School is part of The Nene Valley Partnership, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Irchester Community Primary School Wellingborough
• Bozeat Community Primary School Wellingborough
• Cogenhoe Primary School Northampton

What is Wollaston School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wollaston School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Wollaston School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wollaston School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Wollaston School have?

Wollaston School has 1,432 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wollaston School cover?

Wollaston School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Wollaston School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.0, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Wollaston School?

Wollaston School is at Irchester Road, Wollaston, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN29 7PH.