The West Bridgford School tops all 64 state secondaries in Nottinghamshire and the city, at 77.2% grade 5+ in English and maths. All eight schools, ranked.
The West Bridgford School had the best GCSE results of any state secondary in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham this summer. Rushcliffe Spencer Academy came second. Toot Hill School in Bingham was fifth.
The Department for Education published school-by-school figures for 2026 on Thursday 15 October. They are provisional, and schools can still ask for corrections. (DfE, Key stage 4 performance 2025/26)
In August we went through every Rushcliffe school’s website on results day. Only two of the eight had published any figures. The DfE data now covers all of them, on the same measures, so they can be compared fairly for the first time this year. (West Bridgford Live, 24 August)
Every Rushcliffe school, ranked
The table uses the two headline measures. Attainment 8 is a pupil’s average score across eight GCSE-level subjects, with English and maths counted twice. The grade 5+ column is the share of pupils who got a strong pass, grade 5 or above, in both English and maths.
| School | Where | Pupils | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English and maths | Grade 4+ English and maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The West Bridgford School | West Bridgford | 268 | 61.4 | 77.2% | 88.4% |
| Rushcliffe Spencer Academy | West Bridgford | 295 | 58.3 | 74.2% | 85.1% |
| Toot Hill School | Bingham | 303 | 55.2 | 69.6% | 86.5% |
| South Nottinghamshire Academy | Radcliffe on Trent | 153 | 52.9 | 51.6% | 75.2% |
| The Becket School | West Bridgford | 177 | 52.3 | 55.9% | 78.0% |
| The South Wolds Academy | Keyworth | 168 | 51.3 | 54.8% | 69.6% |
| East Leake Academy | East Leake | 189 | 49.5 | 50.3% | 74.6% |
| The Nottingham Emmanuel School | West Bridgford | 176 | 44.1 | 36.9% | 59.1% |
| England, state-funded schools | 46.2 | 46.3% | 64.8% |
Seven of the eight are above the England average on every measure. The Nottingham Emmanuel School, on Gresham Park Road, is the exception. It sits in West Bridgford, but the DfE lists it under Nottingham City Council rather than Nottinghamshire.
Across the 64 state mainstream secondaries in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, The West Bridgford School was first on both Attainment 8 and the grade 5+ measure. Rushcliffe Spencer was second on Attainment 8. Carlton le Willows Academy in Gedling had the second highest grade 5+ share, at 76.1%. One independent school, Nottingham Girls’ High School, scored higher than any of them.
Rushcliffe is ninth in England
The DfE also publishes figures for every council district, counting pupils by where they live rather than where they go to school.
- 1,400 Rushcliffe pupils finished Year 11 at a state school this summer
- Their average Attainment 8 score was 55.4, against 46.2 for England
- 65.6% got grade 5 or above in English and maths, against 46.3% for England
That puts Rushcliffe ninth of 297 districts in England on Attainment 8, level with Barnet. All eight districts above it are in London, the South East or the East of England, which makes Rushcliffe the highest scoring district anywhere else in the country.
The neighbours are well behind. Gedling’s average was 49.7 and Broxtowe’s 49.5. Nottingham’s was 43.4. (DfE, local authority district data)
Most schools slipped a little on last year
The 2026 figures are lower than 2025’s at most Rushcliffe schools, while England as a whole held level.
- The Becket School had the biggest fall. Its Attainment 8 went from 57.3 to 52.3, and its grade 5+ share from 64.7% to 55.9%.
- The South Wolds Academy fell from 53.5 to 51.3, and from 60.9% to 54.8% at grade 5+.
- East Leake Academy fell from 57.8% to 50.3% at grade 5+.
- The West Bridgford School came down from 62.9 to 61.4, still top of the county.
- Rushcliffe Spencer Academy was level, 58.1 to 58.3.
- Toot Hill School rose at grade 5+, from 67.5% to 69.6%.
- South Nottinghamshire Academy rose on Attainment 8, from 51.7 to 52.9, but fell at grade 5+, from 56.6% to 51.6%.
For the borough’s own pupils, the grade 5+ share went from 67.7% to 65.6%. England’s went up slightly, from 45.5% to 46.3%. One year’s change at a school with fewer than 200 pupils can turn on a handful of results, so a single fall is not a trend.
The two schools that did publish in August are borne out by the official data. Rushcliffe Spencer said “nearly three quarters” got grade 5+ in English and maths; the DfE figure is 74.2%. East Leake said 76% got grade 4+; the provisional DfE figure is 74.6%.
The gap for poorer pupils is wider here
The district figures also split pupils by disadvantage. The DfE counts a pupil as disadvantaged if they had free school meals at any point in the last six years, or have been in care.
| Pupils living in Rushcliffe | Pupils | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English and maths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disadvantaged | 203 | 37.7 | 33.5% |
| Not disadvantaged | 1,197 | 58.4 | 71.1% |
Disadvantaged pupils in Rushcliffe did a little better than disadvantaged pupils across England, who scored 35.6 and 27.6%. But the rest of Rushcliffe’s pupils pulled much further ahead. The gap at grade 5+ is 37.6 percentage points in Rushcliffe, against 26.7 across England.
What it means for you
- Choosing a secondary for September 2027? The deadline for applications to Nottinghamshire secondary schools is Saturday 31 October 2026, through the county council’s admissions pages. Offers go out on 1 March 2027. These are the most recent results you will have before applications close.
- Look at more than one number. Attainment 8 reflects who a school takes in as well as how it teaches. Progress 8, which adjusted for pupils’ primary school results, cannot be calculated for 2025 or 2026, the DfE says, because there is no Key Stage 2 data for those year groups: primary tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
- The figures can still change. These are provisional. Corrections schools ask for during the autumn checking exercise go into revised figures later in the year.
- The DfE’s old Compare School Performance site will not be updated with 2026 results. The department says a new service opens this autumn; until then, each school’s figures are in the DfE’s statistics release.
Sources: Department for Education, Key stage 4 performance 2025/26 (provisional), published 15 October 2026: performance tables schools data and local authority district data (2024/25 final figures for the comparisons). Rushcliffe Spencer Academy and East Leake Academy results-day announcements, 20 August 2026.
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