Nuneaton Academy

Nuneaton Academy is a rapidly improving school that opened as a new school within United Learning Trust in December 2023. Inspectors found strong leadership and governance, with leaders bringing about rapid and lasting improvement, setting high ambitions, and using trust support well. Safeguarding standards are met. The school serves a high proportion of pupils with SEN support and disadvantaged pupils, and its inclusive approach is a notable strength. Across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and personal development, the school is meeting expected standards. Pupils increasingly achieve in line with national averages at GCSE, disadvantaged pupils progress steadily, and teaching is precise with a broad curriculum. Behaviour and attendance have improved significantly, suspensions have fallen, and pupils are calm and orderly. Personal development and enrichment are strong, including careers guidance that has increased progression into education, employment or training. However, attendance remains below national averages for some pupils and persistent absence is high, though improving. Leaders should further strengthen work with families and external partners to secure high attendance over time. The careers programme also needs to become deeply embedded and consistent so it raises pupils’ aspirations more fully.

Strengths

• Leaders have driven rapid and lasting improvement since the school joined the trust.
• Governance holds leaders to account and trust support is used effectively.
• Staff value development and support, contributing to an inclusive and aspirational culture.
• Pupils increasingly achieve in line with national averages at GCSE.
• Disadvantaged pupils progress steadily and close knowledge gaps.
• Pupils recall knowledge well and use subject-specific language with increasing accuracy.
• Attendance and behaviour have improved significantly, with suspensions substantially reduced.
• Pupils are calm, orderly and follow clear behaviour routines.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and logically sequenced across subjects.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and teaching is precise and effective.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, with careful adaptations and effective reading support.
• Inclusion is prioritised for a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Personal development, enrichment and leadership opportunities are broad and inclusive.
• Careers guidance has increased the number of pupils staying in education, employment or training.
• Safeguarding is met and there is an open, positive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance rates remain below national averages for some pupils.
• Persistent absence is high, although it has declined over time.
• Some pupils do not attend as often as they could.
• The careers programme needs to raise pupils’ aspirations more consistently and become deeply embedded.
• A small number of pupils do not consistently show dedication to their learning and require continued individualised support.

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 Nuneaton Academy attended 85.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.7% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Nuneaton Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 Nuneaton Academy had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.9% 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 Nuneaton Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.2% 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 Nuneaton Academy received £8,255 and spent £8,386 for each of its 964 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £861,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 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 Nuneaton · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

Nuneaton Academy is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• Hartshill Academy Nuneaton
• George Eliot Academy Nuneaton
• Heath Lane Academy Leicester
• Timbertree Academy Cradley Heath
• Corngreaves Academy Cradley Heath
• Ham Dingle Primary Academy Stourbridge
• Campion School Northampton
• Montsaye Academy Kettering
• Hanwell Fields Community School Banbury
• North Oxfordshire Academy Banbury

What is Nuneaton Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Nuneaton Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Nuneaton Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Nuneaton Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Nuneaton Academy have?

Nuneaton Academy has 977 pupils on roll.

What age range does Nuneaton Academy cover?

Nuneaton Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Nuneaton Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.8, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Nuneaton Academy?

Nuneaton Academy is at Radnor Drive, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV10 7PD.