Best Schools in Derby

How many schools are there in Derby?

Derby has 159 open schools: 106 state primary, 21 state secondary or all-through, 8 independent, 14 special and 10 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Derby are rated Outstanding?

16 schools in Derby were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Maple View School, Castleward Spencer Academy, Lawn Primary School, St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy, Landau Forte College and 11 more. Counting Good as well, 91% of the 134 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Maple View SchoolCastleward Spencer AcademyLawn Primary SchoolSt George's Catholic Voluntary AcademyLandau Forte College

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Derby get the best GCSE results?

Of the 21 schools in Derby with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Littleover Community School, with an Attainment 8 score of 54.5 and 58% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; John Port Spencer Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.5 and 63% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Chellaston Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.1 and 56% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Littleover Community SchoolJohn Port Spencer AcademyChellaston Academy

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Derby have the best SATs results?

Of the 86 primary schools in Derby with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Aston-on-Trent Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Redhill Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); and Shardlow Primary School (100% in reading, 93% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Aston-on-Trent Primary SchoolRedhill Primary SchoolShardlow Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Derby?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Derby selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Derby have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Derby have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Derby?

Apply to your council - Derby, Derbyshire or Leicestershire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.