Rushden Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Rushden, North Northamptonshire Council, teaching 961 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in September 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 41.6 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 4 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Rushden Academy.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Sixth formGood
Academy First Section 5 · Inspected 13 Sep 2022 · Published 11 Oct 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Rushden Academy.

Rushden Academy term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Staff Training Day
  • 2 Staff Training Day
  • 3 Staff Training Day
  • 4 School opens to Students - Term 1 Start
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 23 School closed to Students - End of Term 1
  • 24 Staff Training Day
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 3 School opens to Students - Term 2 Start
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 19 School closed to Students - End of Term 2
  • 20–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 26 Boxing Day
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–4 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day
  • 5 Staff Training Day
  • 6 School opens to Students - Term 3 Start
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 13 School closed to Students - End of Term 3
  • 23 School opens to Students - Term 4 Start
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27 School closed to Students - End of Term 4
  • 28–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–12 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday
  • 6 Easter Monday
  • 13 School opens to Students - Term 5 Start
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 22 School closed to Students - End of Term 5
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 School opens to Students - Term 6 Start
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 17 School closed to Students - End of Term 6
  • 18–31 Summer Holiday
  • 20 Staff Training Day
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
September 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Staff Training Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
  • Staff Training Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
  • Staff Training Day Sep 3, 2025 Inset Day
  • School opens to Students - Term 1 Start Sep 4, 2025 Term
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 1 Oct 23, 2025 Term
  • Staff Training Day Oct 24, 2025 Inset Day
  • School opens to Students - Term 2 Start Nov 3, 2025 Term
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 2 Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event
  • New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
  • Staff Training Day Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
  • School opens to Students - Term 3 Start Jan 6, 2026 Term
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 3 Feb 13, 2026 Term
  • School opens to Students - Term 4 Start Feb 23, 2026 Term
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 4 Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Mar 28, 2026 - Apr 12, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • School opens to Students - Term 5 Start Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 5 May 22, 2026 Term
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • School opens to Students - Term 6 Start Jun 1, 2026 Term
  • School closed to Students - End of Term 6 Jul 17, 2026 Term
  • Staff Training Day Jul 20, 2026 Inset Day
  • Summer Holiday Jul 18, 2026 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
41.6 Attainment 8 England 46.1
27.2% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
23.88 A level average score England 35
25.5% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Rushden Academy with North Northamptonshire Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 41.6 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school North Northamptonshire Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 41.6
North Northamptonshire Council 42.9 England 46.1 -4.5 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 27.2%
North Northamptonshire Council 38% England 45.4% -18.2 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 36.8
North Northamptonshire Council 31.5 England 34.9 +1.9 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 6.2
North Northamptonshire Council 14.8 England 15.5 -9.3 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 23.2%
North Northamptonshire Council 23% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 151
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 23.88 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school North Northamptonshire Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 23.88
North Northamptonshire Council 32.72 England 35 -11.1 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 47
Attendance 25.5% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school North Northamptonshire Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 25.5%
North Northamptonshire Council 17.4% England 17.8% +7.7 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 9.3%
North Northamptonshire Council 6.8% England 6.8% +2.6 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 89% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school North Northamptonshire Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 89%
North Northamptonshire Council 91% England 92% -3 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 81%
North Northamptonshire Council 81% England 83% -2 vs England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 83% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school North Northamptonshire Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 83%
North Northamptonshire Council 90% England 79% +4 vs England
Went to higher education 34%
North Northamptonshire Council 57% England 37% -3 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Rushden Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Rushden Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.