The Bulwell Academy has ranked as the highest climbing school in Nottingham on the Fairer Schools Index, months after being put out of special measures. The Bulwell school was put out of special measures following its latest Ofsted inspection in March 2024.
Following the watchdog visit, the school’s grading also went up from “inadequate” to “requires improvement”. During the inspection, it was noted that the school has “high expectations” for behaviour and that the majority of pupils are “respectful and behave well.”
In 2024, staff at the school participated in strikes over working conditions and concerns over management. The school’s headteacher left to ‘pursue other opportunities’ in February.
The school has now been named among the highest climbing schools in the East Midlands, and the highest climber in Nottinghamshire, on the Fairer Schools Index 2025. The index is said to give a more accurate insight into the places where teachers are truly making a difference in class.
Chris Keen, executive principal at The Bulwell Academy, said: “Matt Irons, Head of School, has been instrumental in leading cultural changes in the academy. High expectations and a focus on embedding kindness and therapeutic thinking into all that the school does has had a profound effect on improving behaviour and attendance whilst reducing suspensions.
“In addition, Matt has led significant improvements through engaging the community in the school’s continuing growth and development. We are all delighted to know that such improvements are being recognised and look forward to an exciting future at The Bulwell Academy.”
The school has gone up 1,176 places, currently ranking in 1,342nd place. A total of 1,070 pupils are on roll at the school, which is run by Creative Education Trust.
Nicole McCartney, director of education at the trust, said: “Bulwell Academy has made rapid and significant improvements in recent years and it is brilliant to see this being recognised. Well done to all our staff and students at Bulwell for their continued hard work and determination to succeed.
“We look forward to continuing to support Bulwell on its improvement journey. Bulwell is totally committed to being a school for the community.”
The second highest climbing school in Nottinghamshire on the index is the Oakwood Academy in Arnold, which has gone up 970 places. Part of the Redhill Academy Trust, the school is in 1,220th place, while it is rated “good” by Ofsted and has 757 pupils on its roll.
Park Vale Academy in Top Valley has gone up 877 places, placing itself in the 972nd spot on the index nationally. The school is also part of the Redhill Academy Trust, rated “good” and has 897 pupils on its roll.
A former Park Vale Academy student secured a place to study at the University of Oxford
(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)
Steve Bowhay, Park Vale Academy headteacher, said: “I am not entirely surprised by the school’s ‘meteoric’ rise on the Fairer Schools Index as the standards of student achievement have risen steadily since the academy first opened in 2017 and last year was our best set of GCSE results to-date.
“All of this success is down to the simple culture of High Expectations we have embedded at Park Vale. Students attending this school know that they must work hard, behave perfectly and aim for the highest possible future aspirations.
“The other key part of the formula is the fantastic team of teachers and support staff we have developed who work so hard to support our young people, provide a fantastic learning experience and give them the confidence to believe in themselves.” Mr Bowhay added that many of the academy’s students have gone off to study subjects such as law and medicine at university, while student Ebony Walker secured a place to study history at the University of Oxford in 2024.
Ebony was the first student to ever secure a spot at the prestigious university in the school’s history. Nottingham University Samworth Academy in Bilborough is the last Nottinghamshire school to make the top 10 highest climbers on the Fairer Schools Index.
The school has gone up 873 places, currently being in 1,597th place. The academy, part of the Nova Education Trust, is rated “good” by Ofsted and has 875 pupils on its roll.
Researchers have measured every school in the country against a series of additional performance metrics to improve on official Department for Education league tables and remove some of the built-in bias against secondary schools teaching children from deprived areas.
The results, revealed exclusively by the Mirror, show the schools where teachers are beating the odds to make the greatest positive impact on pupils up to the age of 16. The study highlights the dozens of schools which have climbed hundreds of places up the rankings when additional factors such as pupil demographics are taken into account.
For many years the Government’s method of evaluating secondary school performance, known as the Progress 8 measure, has failed to take into account factors including the number of children from poorer backgrounds at each school. Doing so, critics say, risks hiding systemic inequalities and providing potentially misleading conclusions about school performance, with regions like the North East seeing its schools unfairly marked down because the areas they serve are not taken into account.
There are growing calls for the new Labour government to provide that crucial context and Ofsted is reported to be considering a new range of measurements for schools that will better inform parents. The Fairer Schools Index goes some way to redress the “false narrative” of a North/South divide in government league tables.
Developed by the University of Bristol, the index adjusts for variables including pupil demographics, ethnicity, and deprivation. The results show the real difference that the best schools make rather than pretending every school has an identical intake with the same socio-economic status and background.