Retford Oaks Academy, Retford

In 2026, pupils at Retford Oaks Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.6 in Nottinghamshire and 47 across England.

36% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in Nottinghamshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 40.1.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.52: 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 32.7, against 45.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 28 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

For September 2026 entry, 150 families put Retford Oaks Academy as their first choice and 520 named it as one of their preferences, for 174 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

Retford Oaks Academy is one of 16 schools run by Diverse Academies Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.2 in 2024/25.

Of the 203 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 56% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 51 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 35% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 31% into work. 7% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

5.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 91 pupils (8.4%) received SEN support and 15 (1.4%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Retford Low Level Rail Station, about 880 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Sports Ground (opposite), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 207 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Nottinghamshire (101), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Retford Oaks Academy issued 99 suspensions, 8.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Retford Oaks Academy are St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.1 miles); Hallcroft Infant and Nursery School (0.7 miles); Ordsall Primary School (0.7 miles); and St Swithun's Church of England Primary Academy (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.