Find information about secondary schools and educational support for children aged 11 to 18 years.
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What is secondary school?
Secondary school covers education from ages 11 to 18 years.
Secondary education is divided into:
- key stage 3 for those aged 11 to 14 years.
- key stage 4 for those aged 14 to 16 years.
The first year of secondary school is Year 7. It follows on from the last year in primary school which is Year 6.
What do children and young people learn at secondary school?
All local authority maintained secondary schools have to follow the national curriculum, which has compulsory core subjects including English, maths and science.
Read more about the National curriculum in England: secondary curriculum (GOV.UK)
Other types of school like academies and private schools do not have to follow the national curriculum. However, there are still requirements for them to teach certain core subjects including English, maths and science.
Assessments and exams
Some schools put Year 7 pupils into sets or streams based on their SATs results from key stage 2 in primary school, but many prefer to reassess them soon after starting secondary school.
Lots of schools use cognitive abilities tests, or CATs. Rather than testing knowledge, they assess how children think and what their potential might be.
CATs cover four areas:
- verbal reasoning
- non-verbal reasoning
- quantitative reasoning
- spatial ability.
They help teachers know which set or stream to put pupils in, and identify those who need extra support or gifted and talented provision.
There’s no mandatory national testing for students in Years 7 to 9, but teachers do have to do their own assessments of their progress and attainment. This takes the form of ongoing teacher assessment (for example, through observations and classwork), periodic progress checks and end-of-term or end-of-year tests.
During key stage 4 most pupils work towards national qualifications, usually GSCE's. These are usually taken in Year 11 when students are aged 15 or 16 years old. Exams will be taken in compulsory subjects and optional subjects.
Some schools offer vocational alternatives to GCSEs, which include BTEC, NVQ, and City and Guilds technical qualifications.
Special educational needs support
Children learn at different rates and so a child may experience learning difficulties at some point in their time at school.
This is not unusual. For most children the difficulties are temporary and are soon overcome with help and encouragement from home and school.
The term Special Educational Needs, or SEN, is used to describe learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for children to learn than most children of the same age.
Children with SEN are likely to need extra or different help from that given to other children their age.
For more information, including the support that can be provided to children with SEN, go to our Support for special educational needs page
Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)
A SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) is a teacher who coordinates the provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities in schools.
They will work together with parents to provide the best possible support for children with SEN and if needed will bring in specialists to work with children in mainstream school.
The SENCO will provide advice and guidance for the family to help them with their child's learning and development.
SEN information report
Each mainstream secondary school, will have it's own website where you can find a copy of the school SEN information report, which includes details of the support they offer to children and young people with special educational needs.
Applying for a school place
Applying for a school place is done through the School Admissions Hub.
The School Admissions Hub lets you view details for primary, infant, junior and secondary schools in Nottinghamshire and gives information on catchment areas, how places are allocated, advice on choosing a school and when to apply for a school place.
Go to the School Admissions Hub (Nottinghamshire County Council)
Search for secondary schools
Find details of secondary schools in Nottinghamshire in our SEND Local Offer: Secondary schools directory listing