Castle Donington College Review 2026: Community-minded 11 to 16 academy with clear routines and an improving curriculum

A small-to-mid sized 11 to 16 secondary serving Castle Donington and surrounding villages, this is a school where clarity matters. The day is tightly structured, enrichment runs after lessons, and students are expected to know the routines and follow them consistently. The school sits within the East Midlands Educational Trust, and the most recent external visit confirmed that the school remained good while also setting out a practical improvement agenda around assessment consistency, behaviour consistency, and parent communication.

Leadership has been through a period of change, and that context matters when reading older information. The current principal is Mrs Victoria Beeby, appointed in June 2024 and taking up post at the end of August 2024.

The tone is purposeful and largely calm. Students are expected to take responsibility for their conduct, and the school’s language around expectations is plain and repeatable. That matters in a mixed, mainstream comprehensive setting, because a shared script reduces low-level friction and helps staff spend time on teaching rather than constant negotiation.

The school’s own framing of values is direct, and it is designed to be used in daily interactions, not just assemblies. In the most recent inspection report, the motto is presented as a practical summary of what the school is aiming for, and the broader picture is of students who are generally polite, friendly, and confident about seeking help from adults when needed.

The setting is also shaped by its size. With a published capacity of 645, it is large enough to run a full Key Stage 4 offer, but still small enough that year teams and pastoral staff can keep a close eye on patterns, attendance, and behaviour across a cohort. That combination can suit students who want a clear structure without the anonymity that sometimes comes with very large secondaries.

This is a school with outcomes that sit below England averages on the measures available here, and the detail is more helpful than the headline. In the most recent GCSE dataset provided, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 42.4 and Progress 8 is -0.27, suggesting students make slightly less progress than similar pupils nationally across eight subjects. The EBacc Average Point Score is 3.58, and 6.1% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the full EBacc suite.

On FindMySchool’s GCSE rankings (based on official performance data), the school is ranked 2,838th in England and 14th in the local area (Derby). That places performance below England average overall. These rankings are a useful comparator for families looking across nearby secondaries, because they show where outcomes sit relative to other schools on the same published measures.

The more constructive reading is what the measures imply for a child’s experience. A negative Progress 8 score is not destiny for an individual student. It usually indicates that consistency, teaching practice, and subject sequencing matter, particularly for students who need strong scaffolding and precise feedback to stay on track.

Curriculum ambition is a stated priority and it shows up in how subjects are sequenced. A strong example from the latest report is history, where students build early background knowledge before tackling later thematic content. That sequencing model matters because it reduces the common secondary problem of students meeting complex ideas without enough foundational knowledge to make sense of them.

Subject knowledge across staff is described as generally strong, and most teaching approaches and resources support the intended curriculum. Where the school is being pushed to improve is consistency. Checks on understanding are not always as effective as they could be in a small number of cases, which makes it harder to spot misconceptions early. This is the kind of issue parents can look for on an open evening: in lessons and in books, is feedback specific, and do students know what they need to do next in each subject?

There is also a strategic focus on the English Baccalaureate. The proportion of students taking the EBacc suite is described as lower than the government ambition, and the school response has been to increase modern foreign language uptake at GCSE so that the EBacc sits more centrally within the curriculum offer.

Reading is treated as a whole-school habit rather than a department-only responsibility. Key Stage 3 includes a daily “drop everything and read” routine, backed by targeted support for students who need help becoming fluent readers. For students who arrive in Year 7 with weaker literacy, that kind of structured practice can make a meaningful difference to access across every subject.

Where Students Go Next

As an 11 to 16 school, the main destination story is post-16 progression. The school supports transition through an established careers programme and a Year 10 work experience entitlement, which matters because it gives every student a practical encounter with the workplace rather than leaving it to the most confident or well-connected families.

Students in this area typically progress to a mix of school sixth forms and further education colleges. The school publishes a post-16 provider list that includes options across Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, and Leicestershire, such as Derby College, Loughborough College, Leicester College, Stephenson College, and a range of local school sixth forms. The breadth of that list is useful for families because it signals that the school expects varied pathways, including A-level routes, technical programmes, and apprenticeships, rather than a single narrow definition of success.

Admissions operate within the standard state school framework, with applications typically coordinated through the local authority. Demand, based on the admissions data provided here, is above supply: 176 applications for 129 offers, a subscription ratio of 1.36, and the school is recorded as oversubscribed.

For families planning a Year 7 move, deadlines are the key risk point. The school’s admissions information and policy documentation states an annual closing date of 31 October for a place the following academic year. For September 2026 entry, the school also published the same 31 October deadline alongside open evening information.

Open events follow a recognisable seasonal pattern. For September 2026 entry, the open evening took place on 25 September 2025. If you are looking further ahead, it is reasonable to expect open events to run in September in most years, with booking sometimes required, and the school website is the best place to confirm the live schedule.

Because no “last distance offered” figure is available here, it is sensible to treat catchment planning with caution. If proximity is important to your decision, use the FindMySchool Map Search to understand your likely travel time and to compare your address against the way other schools in the area prioritise distance.

Pastoral work is closely tied to predictable routines. Students benefit when the behaviour policy is applied consistently across staff, and the school has been explicit about tightening that consistency so that boundaries are clear in every classroom. The message for parents is simple: behaviour is generally good, but you should expect the school to be firm about expectations, and you should also ask how disruption is handled when it appears in particular subjects or year groups.

Safeguarding is a clear strength. The latest Ofsted report states that safeguarding arrangements are effective, and it positions student safety as central to the school’s culture of support and adult availability.

SEND support has also been an active improvement strand. Staff guidance about how best to support pupils with SEND has been reviewed and strengthened, and most staff are described as having a secure understanding of adapting teaching. A practical issue to watch, however, is the parent experience. Some parents of pupils with SEND were concerned about the adequacy of support and the clarity of communication about what support is being provided. That creates a clear question for meetings and transition planning: what does support look like in lessons, how is it tracked, and how will you be updated across the year?

The extracurricular programme is structured around both enjoyment and targeted support. That balance is important in an 11 to 16 school, because enrichment should not be limited to high-attaining students, and intervention should not feel like a punishment.

There are strong examples of academic support built into the weekly rhythm. The published programme includes Maths Intervention for Year 11, Reading Intervention for Years 10 and 11, and subject-specific sessions such as Geography support for Years 10 and 11, plus English support and revision clinics at Key Stage 4. The implication for families is that the school expects students to use guided practice and structured catch-up, particularly as GCSEs approach, rather than leaving progress to independent study alone.

On the enrichment side, the offer includes clubs with a distinctive flavour as well as familiar sport and arts options. Recent examples include Debate Club, Dungeons and Dragons, Crochet Club, Animation Club, Language Film Club, and a Music Composition Clinic. Sport runs alongside this, with football on the astro and basketball and netball in the gym. For many students, these specific options are what turns school from a timetable into a community.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is also a visible strand, described as well established. For students who benefit from a structured challenge outside lessons, that can be a strong vehicle for confidence, teamwork, and independence.

The school day is clearly defined. Doors open at 08:35, morning tutor time begins at 08:45, and the compulsory day ends at 15:15. Enrichment activities run from 15:15 to 16:15.

Term dates are published for both 2025 to 26 and 2026 to 27, which helps families planning childcare, travel, and transition arrangements.

Wraparound care at secondary level is usually limited compared with primary, and breakfast provision is referenced in the extracurricular timetable as “Breakfast club” running before school. If you need reliable before-school supervision beyond that, it is worth checking directly what is available each term and which year groups it covers.

• Outcomes sit below England averages. With Progress 8 at -0.27 and FindMySchool’s GCSE rank at 2,838th in England, families should look closely at subject-level support and how the school targets progress for their child’s specific strengths and gaps.

• Consistency is the key improvement theme. Assessment checks and behaviour policy application are described as not fully consistent in a small number of cases. For some students, inconsistency feels unsettling; for others it is manageable if routines are strong elsewhere.

• Communication has been a pressure point. The latest report highlights parent concerns about communication, including around SEND support. If your child has additional needs, ask what the school has put in place to keep families informed across the year.

• Oversubscription may still apply. Recent demand data records the school as oversubscribed. If a place here is important, treat deadlines as non-negotiable and understand how your address is prioritised in the published criteria.

Castle Donington College suits families who want a straightforward, structured 11 to 16 school with clear routines, a defined school day, and an enrichment offer that includes both targeted academic support and student-led interest clubs. The best fit is often for students who respond well to predictable expectations and who will use intervention and after-school support to strengthen attainment over time. The main decision point is whether the school’s current improvement priorities, especially consistency in assessment and behaviour practice, align with what your child needs to thrive.

If you are shortlisting locally, the FindMySchool Comparison Tool is a practical way to view the school’s GCSE measures alongside nearby alternatives on the same published indicators.