Quarrydale Academy, Sutton-in-Ashfield

In 2026, pupils at Quarrydale Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.6 in Nottinghamshire and 47 across England.

27% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in Nottinghamshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 36.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.56: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 31.2, against 43.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 29 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 195 families put Quarrydale Academy as their first choice and 369 named it as one of their preferences, for 196 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Quarrydale Academy are Sutton Community Academy (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.1); Ashfield Comprehensive School (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2); All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Academy (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.5); and Outwood Academy Kirkby (2.7 miles, Attainment 8 40.5).

Quarrydale Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

137 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Quarrydale Academy (as of September 2025): 51% would recommend the school, 65% say their child is happy there and 43% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (70%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (39%).

Of the 211 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 52% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 75 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 63% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 21% into work. 25% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

38.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 5.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 169 pupils (13.4%) received SEN support and 19 (1.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

The nearest railway station is Sutton Parkway Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Fern Street (adjacent), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Quarrydale Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 316 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Nottinghamshire (101), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Quarrydale Academy issued 509 suspensions, 39.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Quarrydale Academy are Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School (0.5 miles), Priestsic Primary and Nursery School (0.6 miles), St Andrew's CofE Primary and Nursery School (0.6 miles) and Forest Glade Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.