The Holgate Academy, Nottingham
The Holgate Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Nottingham, part of Diverse Academies Trust. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2024. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 42nd-highest of the 43 schools in Nottingham with published results, and 3,016th of 3,298 across England. It was 64% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Well below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Nottinghamshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Holgate Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Holgate Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 36.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.6 in Nottinghamshire and 47 across England.
23% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in Nottinghamshire and 47% in England.
That is up from 34.3 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.81: 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 31.5, against 39.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.7 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.
Getting a place at The Holgate Academy
For September 2026 entry, 177 families put The Holgate Academy as their first choice and 353 named it as one of their preferences, for 229 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to The Holgate Academy are The National CofE Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 45.9); The Bulwell Academy (2.2 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 39.6); The Kimberley School (2.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.6); and Park Vale Academy (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.2).
Each of them had higher 2026 results than The Holgate Academy.
The National CofE AcademyThe Bulwell AcademyThe Kimberley SchoolPark Vale Academy
The trust
The Holgate 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.
Where pupils go next
Of the 235 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 79% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 55% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.
Of the 55 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 51% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 29% into work. 7% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Who goes there
38.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 4.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (78%) and Mixed (7%).
In 2026, 162 pupils (13.4%) received SEN support and 30 (2.5%) 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.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Hucknall Tram Stop, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.
17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Holgate School (in), 60 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Holgate Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Holgate Academy issued 644 suspensions, 54.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 7 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to The Holgate Academy are Holgate Primary and Nursery School (0.4 miles), Edgewood Primary and Nursery School (0.5 miles), Hillside Primary and Nursery School (0.6 miles) and Hucknall Flying High Academy (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Holgate Primary and Nursery SchoolEdgewood Primary and Nursery SchoolHillside Primary and Nursery SchoolHucknall Flying High Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
This school is improving. Pupils benefit from an environment that is calm and suitable for learning. Aspirations for what pupils can achieve are high. Attendance is slowly rising. However, there is more work to do before all pupils attend school well and receive a consistently high quality of education.
Relationships between pupils and staff are mainly respectful. Interactions between pupils during social times are usually positive. Pupils' conduct is getting better. They know how they should behave and an increasing number of pupils meet these expectations. However, there are some inconsistencies in how staff manage pupils' behaviour.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school, supported by the trust, has worked hard to improve its culture and raise aspirations of what pupils can achieve. Leaders' keen focus on the right priorities is continuing to improve the school. However, some of this work is recent. It has not had enough time to have a sustained impact on the school's practices, or on pupils' experiences and achievements. As a result, while the school is getting better, it still requires further improvements.
Pupils study a broad range of academic and vocational subjects, including in the sixth form. The curriculum is well thought out in the majority of these subjects. Teachers know what pupils need to learn and how this links to what has been taught before.
From Ofsted's June 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Requires Improvement at its June 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Sixth form.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Behaviour & attitudes (Requires Improvement), Personal development (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Requires Improvement).
About
The Holgate Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England, a former mining community north of Nottingham.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
38.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -1.03 to -0.81 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 33.9 to 36.6 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 16% to 23% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 36.6 | 22.9% |
| Disadvantaged(71) | - | 31.5 | 15.5% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(139) | - | 39.2 | 26.6% |
| Boys(114) | - | 36.4 | 21.9% |
| Girls(96) | - | 36.8 | 24% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(12) | - | 35.6 | 25% |
| Non mobile(198) | - | 37.3 | 23.2% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 3 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 235 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
7
Permanent exclusions
0.59%
Exclusion rate
644
Suspensions
54.25%
Suspension rate
155 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,187 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with The Holgate Academy
Term dates
The Holgate Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Nottinghamshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Holgate Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Holgate Academy is in Nottinghamshire; for families living there:
- Nottinghamshire's school travel policy: Under 16 Transport Policy 2026-2027
- How to apply: Apply for under 16 travel assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 11
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 11 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 10 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Nottinghamshire is 10 (the median across 370 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at The Holgate Academy
Will you get a place at The Holgate Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Holgate Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Holgate Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Holgate Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Nottinghamshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Holgate Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Nottinghamshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
64%
Available places
1,174 pupils
1,821 places
647 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Nottingham
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Nottingham
Across Nottinghamshire council
Places available
9,842
Applications
9,200
Got 1st preference
92.5%
Got preferred school
98.5%
All secondary applications across Nottinghamshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
162
SEN Support
30
EHC Plans
15.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,207
Total Pupils
640
Boys
567
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
78
Teachers
15.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,039
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,394
Per pupil
£8998k
Total funding
£455k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.3%
Overall absence
32.1%
Persistent absence
1,157
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about The Holgate Academy
What are GCSE results like at The Holgate Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Holgate Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 36.6. 23% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Holgate Academy's Ofsted rating?
The Holgate Academy was rated Requires Improvement at its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024.
What is the catchment area for The Holgate Academy?
No fixed boundary. When The Holgate Academy is oversubscribed, Nottinghamshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Holgate Academy?
The Holgate Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 64% of its 1821 places.
How big are the classes at The Holgate Academy?
Classes at The Holgate Academy average 21.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Holgate Academy?
The Holgate Academy has around 1207 pupils on roll. 38% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Holgate Academy?
11.3% of sessions were missed at The Holgate Academy in 2024/25. 32.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Holgate Academy?
Apply through Nottinghamshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Holgate Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near The Holgate Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 11 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 10 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Nottinghamshire is 10 (the median across 370 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Holgate Academy?
The Holgate Academy is at Nabbs Lane, Hucknall, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG15 6HB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)