John Ferneley College Review 2026: Large 11–16 Academy with Clear Behaviour Systems and a Focus on Rebuilding Consistency

A big, mixed secondary in Melton Mowbray, John Ferneley College sits firmly in the “community workhorse” category, serving a wide range of local families and running at around 11–16 scale. The current moment is one of reset. A new headteacher arrived in April 2024, and the priority is to turn stability into consistently strong classroom practice, especially in how well pupils learn the curriculum across subjects and how reliably teachers check understanding.

What already looks settled is the basic day-to-day experience. Behaviour systems are clearly communicated, most lessons are calm and orderly, and pupils have structured opportunities to take responsibility through roles such as ambassadors and student leadership. The question for families is less about whether routines exist, and more about whether the school can make teaching quality consistent enough for outcomes to follow.

This is a school that talks explicitly about values, and it does so in plain language. Hard work, kindness and resilience appear as a recurring thread across published material, and that matters because a large secondary needs shared reference points if it is to feel coherent across year groups and staff teams.

The tone is purposeful rather than informal. Systems, routines and a structured approach to learning feature strongly in how the school explains itself, including its teaching and learning handbook, which is presented as a common framework for lessons. For pupils, this kind of approach can reduce uncertainty, particularly for those who like predictable expectations. For some families, especially those with children who thrive on autonomy and a looser classroom style, the emphasis on consistent routines is worth exploring carefully at open events.

A second defining feature is the school’s size and breadth. With an official capacity of 1,100 and a roll that has sat above that figure in recent data, year groups are large, friendship circles can be wide, and there is usually more set-level and pathway differentiation at Key Stage 4 than in a smaller secondary. The upside is range and choice. The trade-off is that consistency becomes harder, and pupils can experience different standards between subjects or classes unless leaders maintain tight quality assurance.

Governance and trust context also matters here. John Ferneley sits within Mowbray Education Trust, which places responsibility for strategy and school improvement both at school level and trust level. For parents, that can be helpful if the trust brings capacity, training and sharper oversight. It can also mean that change programmes, new expectations, and staffing structures shift relatively quickly, which is positive when improvement is needed but can feel unsettling if a child prefers continuity.

In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking, the school is ranked 2,084th in England and 2nd in the Melton Mowbray area. That positioning sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), a “typical performance” profile rather than an elite one. (FindMySchool ranking based on official data.)

The headline attainment measures show an Attainment 8 score of 45 and an EBacc average point score of 3.94, alongside a Progress 8 score of -0.34. The Progress 8 figure indicates pupils, on average, made less progress than pupils nationally with similar starting points over the measurement period.

There is also a relatively low percentage of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in EBacc subjects (15.9%). For families who value a broad academic core, especially a strong humanities and languages pathway, this is a statistic to take seriously when discussing Key Stage 4 options and how the school supports EBacc entry and success.

The important practical implication is not simply “results are average”. It is that outcomes can be sensitive to the consistency of teaching, curriculum sequencing, and how quickly gaps are picked up. In a large, mixed-intake secondary, small differences in classroom practice compound over time. If the school’s current improvement work successfully raises consistency across departments, outcomes often follow.

Parents comparing local schools should use the FindMySchool Local Hub to view results side-by-side using the Comparison Tool, particularly for Progress 8 and EBacc measures, where differences can be meaningful even between geographically close schools.

A clear, codified teaching model sits at the centre of how the school describes learning. The school refers to a shared lesson structure and explicitly links this to Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, positioning the approach as evidence-informed and designed to make lessons predictable and effective.

That kind of framework, done well, has a straightforward benefit for pupils. It reduces cognitive load around “how lessons work”, so pupils can focus on the content itself. It can also help new teachers join the school with a ready-made structure. The risk, in any school with a highly specified model, is uneven implementation. If some teachers use the model with precision and others apply it loosely, pupils experience a patchwork of expectations and checking for understanding. The school’s own materials strongly suggest leaders are aiming to reduce that variability.

Curriculum information published by subject areas points to an intent-led approach across departments, with each subject outlining aims and how knowledge builds over time. That can be especially useful for parents who want to understand what their child will study and why, rather than relying only on broad subject titles.

For pupils who struggle, the presence of scheduled intervention is also notable. The school publishes “out of lesson” sessions across a week, including subject support in areas such as mathematics practice, English language and literature, science, languages, and vocational pathways like Creative iMedia and health and social care. The implication is practical: support is not only reactive at exam time, it is structured into the week. Families should still ask how pupils are identified for these sessions, whether they are opt-in or directed, and how the school measures impact for pupils who attend regularly.

John Ferneley is an 11–16 school, so the key “destinations” question is post-16 rather than sixth form outcomes. The school’s provider access policy reports that, in the most recent cited year, 91% of Year 11 leavers progressed into continuing education, with smaller proportions into apprenticeships (3%) and employment with training (3.5%).

Those figures suggest a mainstream post-16 progression pattern with a strong emphasis on staying in education. The implication for families is positive but practical. Pupils are expected to move into a college or training provider, and the school’s role is to make that transition well-planned, well-advised, and suitable for the individual pupil’s strengths and interests.

Careers provision is framed explicitly around the Gatsby Benchmarks, and the school highlights employer engagement activities such as mock interviews, workshops, and talks. This matters because, at 11–16, high-quality careers guidance can be the difference between a pupil choosing a realistic post-16 pathway and drifting into an option that does not fit. The best use of a Gatsby-aligned programme is targeted guidance, particularly for pupils who are undecided, vulnerable to anxiety about next steps, or choosing between academic and technical routes.

For families with pupils who have SEND, transition planning appears to be treated as a structured process, including Year 11 transition reviews where relevant and coordination with post-16 providers. That kind of early planning is often what makes post-16 change feel manageable rather than abrupt.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through Leicestershire County Council, rather than a direct application to the school. The school’s own admissions page signposts families to the local authority process and states a closing date of 31 October for Year 7 applications. For the September 2026 intake, the county’s admissions system indicates applications opened on 1 September 2025 and the national offer day is 2 March 2026.

Demand data in the provided dataset shows an oversubscribed position for the main entry route. There were 377 applications for 221 offers, which equates to around 1.71 applications per place offered. That level of demand is meaningful but not extreme by English secondary standards. In practice, it means some families will be disappointed, and distance or oversubscription criteria will matter.

Unlike some schools where a single year’s last offered distance becomes a decisive planning tool, there is no last-distance figure provided here for the reference year. Where distance is decisive in a family’s decision, parents should use FindMySchool Map Search to understand their home-to-school proximity and then cross-check the local authority’s oversubscription criteria and any published cut-offs for that year.

The school also runs structured transition engagement for Year 5 and Year 6 families, including a whole-school open evening and subject-specific sessions across the autumn term and beyond. Dates published for one cycle include events in September, October, November, December and April, which suggests an extended engagement model rather than a single one-off open evening. If you are applying for a future year, treat the pattern as indicative and confirm the current calendar before planning around it.

The school’s wellbeing picture is closely tied to clarity and consistency. When pupils know what is expected, sanctions and rewards feel predictable, and staff-pupil relationships can be calm and constructive. In a large secondary, that kind of calm baseline is often the foundation that allows learning to take hold.

Support for pupils with SEND is anchored by a dedicated base described as the SEND Hub, used both as a withdrawal space and as a place pupils can access when they need to regulate. The school also states the Hub provides homework support until 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a practical offer rather than a vague pastoral promise. For pupils who find busy social times difficult, or who need a quieter place to re-set, an identifiable base can make the difference between coping and not coping.

The whole-school safeguarding position is a key baseline for any family, and it is especially relevant when a school is in an improvement phase. The April 2024 inspection stated that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Attendance also sits within the pastoral picture, both as an outcome and as a driver of progress. The school explicitly connects attendance routines with safeguarding and learning time, and it publishes punctuality expectations that align with its structured day.

Extracurricular life at John Ferneley is framed as a core part of the school’s offer rather than an optional extra. Clubs are scheduled into the after-school slot from 3.05pm to 4.05pm, with later finishes where rehearsals or fixtures require it. In a school day that ends at 3.00pm, that structure gives pupils a predictable rhythm for enrichment without pushing too late into the evening for most families.

Trips and visits are a distinctive element. The school reports recent international travel to destinations including New York, Borneo, Iceland and France, alongside UK residential experiences such as outdoor activity trips to Mount Cook and Condover Hall. That mix matters because it suggests both aspiration and accessibility. International trips can be life-changing for students who have not travelled widely, while domestic residentials can deliver the confidence-building elements without the cost and logistics of long-haul travel. The school also states it offers payment plans to spread the cost, which is a practical approach for a broad intake.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is explicitly signposted within enrichment, which typically indicates a structured pathway for pupils seeking a sustained programme rather than one-off activities. For pupils who need a reason to stick with something over months, DofE is often a good “container” because it blends volunteering, skills, physical activity and an expedition. It also supports post-16 applications where evidence of reliability and teamwork matters.

Performance opportunities are also referenced through the school production and through facilities that include a large auditorium, drama and dance spaces, and indoor and outdoor sports provision. In a school of this size, having dedicated performance spaces tends to make arts participation more visible and more routine, rather than squeezed into borrowed classrooms.

Academic enrichment is not limited to a top set. Published intervention and support sessions cover a wide spread of subjects and include both coursework support and structured practice, such as mathematics practice programmes and language support. The implication for parents is straightforward: pupils who engage with these sessions have more supported time to consolidate learning, which is often the factor that separates “coping” from “confident” by Year 11.

The published school day begins with movement to tutor time from 8.35am, followed by tutor and assembly, five lessons, and a lunch break, with after-school activities from 3.05pm onwards. This is a conventional secondary structure, with a clear slot for enrichment at the end of the day.

Transport planning for families typically centres on Melton Mowbray town travel patterns, with bus stops on or near Scalford Road and the railway station in walking range for older pupils who travel independently. Families should check the safety and practicality of the walking route and crossings for their child, especially in winter.

As this is a secondary school, wraparound childcare is not a standard expectation in the way it is for primaries. Where supervised after-school provision is needed beyond enrichment clubs, families should ask directly what is available, particularly for younger Year 7 pupils, as published information focuses primarily on clubs and subject support rather than late-day childcare.

• Requires Improvement judgement and improvement phase. The school is in a period of rebuilding consistency, particularly around teaching quality and curriculum implementation. That can be a positive moment for a school, but families should ask how improvement is being measured, and how quickly pupils will feel the benefit.

• A large school can feel different between departments. Size brings choice and social breadth, but it also increases the risk that pupils experience mixed standards between subjects. Ask about how leaders check consistency and how pupils are supported if they fall behind in a specific department.

• Progress measures are a key watch-point. The Progress 8 figure is below average, which suggests some pupils may not yet be achieving as well as they could from their starting points. Parents should explore how targeted support, intervention sessions and SEND strategies are being used to shift this.

• Post-16 transition is essential. As an 11–16 school, a good Year 11 experience includes strong guidance and planning for the next step. Families should explore how the school supports applications to colleges, apprenticeships and training, particularly for pupils who need extra structure at transition.

John Ferneley College offers a structured, large-school secondary experience with clear routines, visible enrichment, and a strong emphasis on rebuilding consistency after leadership change. It suits families who want a local 11–16 school with a clear behaviour framework, access to extracurricular trips and programmes like Duke of Edinburgh, and a careers offer designed to support post-16 decisions.

The limiting factor is not whether the school has a plan, it is whether teaching and curriculum delivery become consistently strong across classrooms quickly enough to lift outcomes. For families who value predictability and want a school that is actively working through an improvement programme, it can be a sensible choice. For those seeking a school with established high performance and minimal change underway, it is worth comparing alternatives and looking closely at how improvement work is affecting pupils today.