Samworth Church Academy

About Samworth Church Academy

Samworth Church Academy is a Church of England secondary school in Mansfield that is significantly oversubscribed, with 574 applications for 185 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.1. Of those, 236 put it as their first preference, and 178 first-preference offers were made. The school currently has 1,004 pupils on roll against a capacity of 900, so it is running over capacity. Its intake includes a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 32.4%, which is well above the national average for secondary schools. The school is mixed and non-selective, serving ages 11 through 19 with its own sixth form. The headteacher is Carl Bennett. Despite the strong local demand, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2025 judged it as Requires Improvement overall, though it was not given a graded overall effectiveness rating in that inspection — the previous inspection in November 2022 had rated it Requires Improvement across the board.

Academically, the school’s Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 academic year was -0.67, which is well below average nationally and ranks it 39th out of 46 similar schools in Nottinghamshire. The local authority average Progress 8 is -0.11, so Samworth’s result is significantly behind that benchmark. Its Attainment 8 score was 36.9, and just 32.6% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc average point score was 3.17, with only 6.7% of pupils achieving the EBacc at grade 5 or above. At A-level, the school’s value added score was -0.56, which is below average, and the average points per entry was 27.6, equivalent to a C- grade. The best three A-levels averaged a grade of C. In the most recent inspection, Ofsted rated behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and sixth-form provision as Good, while quality of education and leadership and management were judged as Requires Improvement.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a library, ICT suite, science labs, theatre, astro turf, chapel, and a sixth form centre. Sports on offer include football, rugby, netball, rowing, and martial arts, and there are clubs such as choir, orchestra, drama, debate, and Young Enterprise. The school has a wide array of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 66 parents in the 2024/25 period show a mixed picture: 52% would recommend the school, but only 35% strongly agreed or agreed that their child is happy, and 41% disagreed or strongly disagreed that concerns are dealt with properly. The school suits families who value a Church of England ethos, want a sixth form on site, and are comfortable with a school that is still working through improvement plans following its Requires Improvement rating.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Samworth Church Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents