Fernwood School

Academy converter·Secondary school Nottingham·NG8 2FT
Composite score
67.2
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#555
National rank
#36
In East Midlands
#2
In Nottingham
Top 18%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
53.8
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
63%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
80%
% EBacc grade 5+
20%
EBacc average points score
4.78

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Outstanding
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Outstanding
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
67%
426 first choices, 293 places
First choices per place
1.45
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
796
any preference, for 293 places
Applications from another council area
17%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.30
00.511.52
1 per place
1.0220221.0120231.2020241.1520251.452026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Nottingham does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Fernwood School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,536
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
20.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
34.2%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
8.3%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
0.9%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
16.1%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,048
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
94%
211 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
92%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
0%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Fernwood School

Fernwood School is a secondary school in Nottingham, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 1,536 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds an 'Outstanding' judgement from Ofsted. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 53.8, above the national average of 46. That is down 5.4 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 18% of secondary schools in England.

63% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 80% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 67% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (426 first choices for 293 places). After Year 11, 94% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.7%. There are about 16.8 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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