School Chooser

Alfred Lord Tennyson School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil147 pupilsNurseryRushdenNorth Northamptonshire
School Chooser Score
15
Below
similar schools
Likely range 6 to 35
Out of 100. Better than 15% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, October 2024
Reached the expected level at 1150%England 63%
Attendance94.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families29%A bit more than most schools
Places63 spare147 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher17.3School workforce census

Alfred Lord Tennyson School is a council school in Rushden for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 147 pupils and room for 210. About 29 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 15 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 15% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Alfred Street, Rushden, NN10 9YS01933 353762alts.northants.sch.ukMrs Kelly O'Connor headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 1 October 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

20 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1150%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level5%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 33%33%20172018: 37%37%20182019: 53%53%20192023: 48%48%20232024: 42%42%20242025: 50%50%2025
Since 2017: +17%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017North NorthamptonshireEngland
Pupils tested202421576054
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths50%42%48%53%37%33%61%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths5%0%0%7%2%7%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0103.0103.0103.0100.098.0104.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0102.0102.0104.099.0102.0103.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.0103.0104.0104.0100.0103.0104.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard65%58%71%67%50%43%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard70%54%57%74%42%61%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)65%63%71%63%50%57%
Reading progressReading progress score-4.4-0.8-6.5-8.7
Maths progressMaths progress score-3.2-0.4-5.8-5.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged38%27%33%26%24%11%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged58%67%67%71%44%46%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
38%58%
Gap 20 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
33%75%
Gap 42 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%5%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places148 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
71% full

62 places were empty (30% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 49% since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to North Northamptonshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll147Census January 2026
Places21070% full
Pupils from low-income families29%29% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English42%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support22%32 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%9 pupils with a plan
Average class size21.07 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)31%£71,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls77 / 70
White British pupils47%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 21.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (12), emotional and mental health (10), language and communications needs (7), Other difficulty or disability (6), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll14715414781101114
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals29%29%33%54%45%37%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language42%35%35%15%12%13%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%18%21%18%19%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans7%3%4%3%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school15.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils4.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.3%7.8%6.3%6.2%3.8%5.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.8%4.9%4.1%5.5%2.7%3.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.5%2.9%2.2%0.8%1.1%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence15.7%27.1%16.9%17.1%7.8%12.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate4.612.37.44.013.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.5full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher17.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,590
Teachers who left in the year4%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.42024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£9,346England £7,738. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£9,320England £7,697. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,545England £3,480
Money in reserve-4%In the red: -£54k, -£352 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£3,913it spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£9,346spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m87012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate148 per 1,000 people62% higher than the England average
Typical house price£265,000North Northamptonshire
Nearest bus stop10 mAlfred Street Junior School, 22 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Denfield Park Primary SchoolCouncil580 m444Good 202334Compare
Newton Road SchoolAcademy630 m196No overall grade 20252Compare
South End Infant SchoolCouncil940 m195Good 202337Compare
Whitefriars Primary SchoolAcademy960 m397Good 202277Compare
South End Junior SchoolCouncil0.7 miles338Good 202371Compare
Rushden Primary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles388Good 202438Compare
Higham Ferrers Junior SchoolAcademy1.1 miles322Requires improvement 20231Compare
Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant SchoolAcademy1.1 miles255Good 202065Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Alfred Lord Tennyson School with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats15%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 15 is 29 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 45 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Alfred Lord Tennyson School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Kettering Park Infant AcademyAcademy9.6 miles220Good 202429Compare
Green Oaks Primary AcademyAcademy12.5 miles220Not inspected31Compare
Danesholme Infant AcademyAcademy13.8 miles189Good 202335Compare
St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy14.0 miles160Good 202443Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 15 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 15% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 6 to 35. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.09
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 20 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%below
-0.15
Ofsted grade, 1.9 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.17
DfE progress measure; 20 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.03
2024/25; 140 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.11
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 20 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Alfred Lord Tennyson School a good school?

The figures are weak. Alfred Lord Tennyson School scores 15 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 15% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 6 to 35, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Alfred Lord Tennyson School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Alfred Lord Tennyson School not judged at its last full inspection on 1 October 2024.

How good are Alfred Lord Tennyson School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 50% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 5% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Alfred Lord Tennyson School have?

147 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 70% full.

Is Alfred Lord Tennyson School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 62 places were empty in 2024/25 (30% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Alfred Lord Tennyson School?

Pupils were in school 94.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 16% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Alfred Lord Tennyson School?

The average class had 21.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Alfred Street, Rushden, NN10 9YS
Telephone
01933 353762
Website
www.alts.northants.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Kelly O'Connor
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
North Northamptonshire
Ward
Rushden Lakes
Constituency
Wellingborough and Rushden
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
121857 · LAESTAB 9402082 · UKPRN 10075121
Formerly
Tennyson Road Infant School

Where these figures come from