SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Rushden, North Northamptonshire

The Ferrers School

Queensway, Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Northamptonshire, NN10 8LF

Sixth form
School website 01933313411

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 3 March 2026.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

38.9 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

27% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

48% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

3.5 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

46% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the bottom quarter of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the bottom quarter.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.28confidence interval -0.52 to -0.05

Taking that range into account, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as below average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C
Average points per entry
30

England average 32.3

A level students
52

Pupils

Pupils on roll
937
Places
1100
How full
85% full — 937 of 1100 places taken
Girls / boys
461 / 476
Overall absence
10%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
26%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
20%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
3%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
4%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
3%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
93%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
83%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
3%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
39%
No sustained destination
6%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
173

After sixth form

Went to university
55%

England 50%

In education, work or training
92%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
9%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
53

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

7% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
56%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
54

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for North Northamptonshire 035A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
22%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
25%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
59%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
28%

England 17%

Households with no car
21%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
44%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Trust
MERIDIAN TRUST
Headteacher
Head Teacher: Clare Raku
Local authority
North Northamptonshire
Ward
Higham Ferrers
Constituency
Wellingborough and Rushden
URN
139988

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Rushden AcademyAcademy sponsor led Good 2022 41.6 0.8 mi
Huxlow AcademyAcademy converter No grade 41.9 2.3 mi
Manor SchoolAcademy converter Inadequate 2024 40 3.6 mi
RefocusOther independent school No grade 4.2 mi
Wellingborough SchoolOther independent school No grade 4.2 mi
Wrenn SchoolAcademy sponsor led Good 2023 40.9 4.3 mi
Sir Christopher Hatton AcademyAcademy converter Good 2022 50.2 4.5 mi
Wollaston SchoolAcademy converter Good 2023 46.1 4.5 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
St Benedict's Catholic CollegeVoluntary aided school Good 2023 54.7
The Priory Academy LSSTAcademy sponsor led Good 2023 53.9
Harris Academy FalconwoodAcademy sponsor led No grade 47.3
Shoreham AcademyAcademy sponsor led Outstanding 2024 54.8
Fort Pitt Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2022 65.9
King Alfred'sAcademy converter No grade 45.4
St Bernard's High SchoolAcademy converter Good 2023 54.9
Maharishi Free SchoolFree schools No grade 54.1

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.