Bluecoat Aspley Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,344 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.6
Academy sponsor led
The Oakwood Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 737of 750 places
- Free school meals
- 42.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 142
- Ofsted
- Good, 11 July 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Big Wood School (URN 122844, until 17 September 2014).
What the data says
The Oakwood Academy has no sixth form. Of the 144 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 13% moved to a sixth form college, 44% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Design and Technology is unusually popular at GCSE: 29% of the year group took it, against 11% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 41.3 against 46.1 across England and 43.0 in Nottingham, with 33% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, The Oakwood Academy is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Nottingham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Oakwood Academy | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 144 | 3,152 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 85% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 28% | 27% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 13% | 14% | 13% |
| — further education college | 44% | 42% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Oakwood Academy | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 41.3 | 43.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 40% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 59% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 37% | 27% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.63 | 3.73 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 34% | 42% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 32.9 | 35.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 45.6 | 48.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 13% | 35% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 140 | 99% | 86% | 11% | 21% | 67% |
| Mathematics | 140 | 99% | 88% | 14% | 22% | 61% |
| English Language | 140 | 99% | 89% | 14% | 20% | 59% |
| Combined Science | 116 | 82% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 47% |
| History | 107 | 75% | 41% | 29% | 26% | 65% |
| Business Studies | 42 | 30% | 18% | 12% | 20% | 43% |
| Design and Technology | 41 | 29% | 11% | 7% | 23% | 63% |
| Religious Studies | 40 | 28% | 31% | 23% | 32% | 57% |
| Spanish | 35 | 25% | 19% | 3% | 27% | 51% |
| Fine Art | 27 | 19% | 9% | 7% | 28% | 67% |
| Chemistry | 24 | 17% | 23% | 13% | 47% | 88% |
| Biology | 24 | 17% | 23% | 8% | 45% | 79% |
| Physics | 24 | 17% | 23% | 13% | 46% | 88% |
| French | 21 | 15% | 18% | 5% | 29% | 48% |
| Geography | 20 | 14% | 41% | 15% | 25% | 25% |
| Computer Science | 18 | 13% | 13% | 0% | 30% | 28% |
| Music | 15 | 11% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 27% |
| Drama | 13 | 9% | 7% | 8% | 27% | 62% |
| Polish | 4 | 3% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 40 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 35 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 19 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Nottingham
Bluecoat Beechdale Academy
Academy sponsor led · 887 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 34.0
Bluecoat Wollaton Academy
Academy converter · 879 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.4
Djanogly City Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,270 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.0
Ellis Guilford School
Academy sponsor led · 1,171 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.1
Farnborough Spencer Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,005 pupils
77% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.9
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.