The Fusion Academy
The Fusion Academy is a special free school in Leicester for boys and girls aged 7 to 19. It has 97 pupils, 17 more than it has places for. About 28 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Moore Road, Barwell, Leicester, LE9 8AG01455 243689openthinkingpartnership.co.uk/fusion-academyMs Kelly Dryden headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 April 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
11 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 0.5 | – | – | – | 46.7 | 46.8 |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | – | – | – | 47% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | – | – | – | 67% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.05 | – | – | – | 4.18 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | – | – | – | 42% | 41% |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
5 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Leicestershire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 5 | 8 | 5 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | 63% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | 6% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | – | 96.0 | – | 105.9 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | – | 86.0 | – | 104.9 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | – | 89.0 | – | 105.6 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 13% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 0% | – | – | – |
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.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
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 Leicestershire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (67), language and communications needs (26), emotional and mental health (2), Other difficulty or disability (1), Vision impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 97 | 93 | 85 | 66 | 46 | 25 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 29% | 27% | 24% | 26% | 28% | 28% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 12.3% | 13.6% | 15.8% | 16.2% | 21.3% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.4% | 9.7% | 10.2% | 15.3% | 20.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.9% | 3.9% | 5.6% | 0.9% | 0.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 29.9% | 39.8% | 32.8% | 38.8% | 48.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.0 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newlands Community Primary School | Academy | 220 m | 270 | Requires improvement 2023 | 1 | Compare |
| Heath Lane Academy | Academy | 220 m | 644 | Not inspected | 18 | Compare |
| Barwell Infant School | Council | 0.6 miles | 150 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
| Barwell Church of England Junior School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 229 | No overall grade 2025 | 58 | Compare |
| Townlands Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 275 | Good 2023 | 55 | Compare |
| Meadow View Farm School | Independent | 1.0 miles | 39 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Simon and St Jude CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 140 | Not inspected | 7 | Compare |
| Saint Peters Catholic Voluntary Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 196 | Good 2023 | 60 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Fusion Academy a good school?
The Fusion Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in April 2023.
What is The Fusion Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Fusion Academy good at its last full inspection on 25 April 2023.
How good are The Fusion Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 0.5, against 46.8 for England.
How many pupils does The Fusion Academy have?
97 pupils aged 7 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 80 places, so it is 121% full.
What is attendance like at The Fusion Academy?
Pupils were in school 87.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 30% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does The Fusion Academy have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Moore Road, Barwell, Leicester, LE9 8AG
- Telephone
- 01455 243689
- Website
- openthinkingpartnership.co.uk/fusion-academy
- Headteacher
- Ms Kelly Dryden
- Type of school
- Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 7-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Open Thinking Partnership (3 schools)
- Local authority
- Leicestershire
- Ward
- Barwell
- Constituency
- Hinckley and Bosworth
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (new provision)
- URN
- 147858 · LAESTAB 8557000 · UKPRN 10086704
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.