SchoolFacts.uk

John Taylor Free School

Secondary · Burton-on-Trent · DE13 9SA

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 14 February 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,315 pupils · 85% of 1,550 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–19
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
24.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
24.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.johntaylorfreeschool.co.uk
URN
145889

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 173 families named it first for 181 Year 7 places, 0.96 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2023 entry went to 4.129 miles; distance decided places in 5 of the 5 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2019 to 2023. Ofsted last graded it Good on 14 February 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.96 first-choice applications per place

181 places offered · 173 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 4.129 miles for 2023 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2023 entry) lived within 4.129 miles

measured in a straight line.

Premium shows the exact distance behind every year back to 2019.

See what a pass includes →

Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

225 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
46.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
67.1%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
48%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.5
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C
31.4
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school46.4
Median of its 12 closest peers52.4
Staffordshire average43.8
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
St Mary's Catholic SchoolNewcastle-upon-Tyne · 153 miles awayOutstanding58.9
The Netherhall SchoolCambridge · 89 miles awayGood45.5
North Chadderton SchoolOldham · 56 miles awayGood43.8
Chesterton Community CollegeCambridge · 86 miles awayOutstanding68
Harris Academy BeckenhamBeckenham · 119 miles awayOutstanding51.6
Birchwood High SchoolBishop's Stortford · 101 miles awayGood46.1
Chancellor's SchoolHatfield · 97 miles awayGood47.6
Carmel CollegeDarlington · 120 miles awayOutstanding53.5
St Francis of Assisi Catholic CollegeWalsall · 16 miles awayStrong standard53.2
The Commonweal SchoolSwindon · 86 miles awayGood46.3
Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic CollegeWorcester · 48 miles awayExpected standard53.1
The St Marylebone CofE SchoolLondon · 109 miles awayOutstanding61

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 48% (Staffordshire 83%, England 59%) · Asian Pakistani 17% (Staffordshire 3%, England 5%) · Any other White background 10% (Staffordshire 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 6% (Staffordshire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Staffordshire 1%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Staffordshire 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Staffordshire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Staffordshire 1%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 2% (Staffordshire 1%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Staffordshire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Staffordshire 0%, England 1%) · Black African 1% (Staffordshire 1%, England 5%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Staffordshire 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
7.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
22.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

30.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 10 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Staffordshire: 18.40 suspensions and 0.31 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
17.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

81% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 16% moved to another state school · 3% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

2.57% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

69.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.7 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,656; 8.8% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,472
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,100,000; in-year balance +£6,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
97%
Continuing in education
90%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
3%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher39.2%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications10.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work42.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways9%18.1%
Residents in very good health51.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier75%62.3%
Social housing2.9%17.1%
Privately rented22.2%20.5%
Detached houses51.8%22.9%
Flats2.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms40.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van5.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01029440 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£330,000106 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£253,000–£415,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (68)£392,500
Semi-detached (33)£235,000
Terraced (5)£223,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (4.89 km, 2022 entry): 2,359 sales, median £209,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
2an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools