Aldercar High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 648 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.9
Academy sponsor led
Mercia Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 592of 750 places
- Free school meals
- 48.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 112
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 1 July 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: William Allitt School (URN 112938, until 31 August 2022).
What the data says
Mercia Academy has no sixth form. Of the 109 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 1% moved to a sixth form college, 61% to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 32.6 against 46.1 across England and 45.0 in Derbyshire, with 23% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Media Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 22% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in Spanish add up to 5% of the year group, and 5% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Derbyshire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Mercia Academy | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 109 | 7,796 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 92% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 81% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 18% | 34% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 1% | 5% | 13% |
| — further education college | 61% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Mercia Academy | Derbyshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 32.6 | 45.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 23% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 37% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 5% | 30% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.64 | 3.92 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 36% | 28% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 25.6 | 34.0 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 36.6 | 49.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 2% | 4% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 110 | 98% | 89% | 4% | 20% | 34% |
| Mathematics | 110 | 98% | 88% | 9% | 22% | 52% |
| English Literature | 110 | 98% | 86% | 4% | 21% | 38% |
| Combined Science | 101 | 90% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 40% |
| Business Studies | 48 | 43% | 18% | 8% | 20% | 44% |
| Geography | 45 | 40% | 41% | 9% | 25% | 53% |
| History | 45 | 40% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 29% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 25 | 22% | 8% | 4% | 21% | 28% |
| Media Studies | 25 | 22% | 4% | 0% | 20% | 40% |
| Fine Art | 23 | 21% | 9% | 17% | 28% | 96% |
| Computer Science | 20 | 18% | 13% | 0% | 30% | 20% |
| Drama | 16 | 14% | 7% | 6% | 27% | 81% |
| Biology | 9 | 8% | 23% | 0% | 45% | 0% |
| Spanish | 6 | 5% | 19% | 33% | 27% | 100% |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 33 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 31 | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | 29 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 28 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 22 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Derbyshire
Anthony Gell School
Academy converter · sixth form · 776 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.8
Belper School and Sixth Form Centre
Foundation school · sixth form · 1,212 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.3
Brookfield Community School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,156 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.8
Buxton Community School
Academy converter · sixth form · 954 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.6
Chapel-en-le-Frith High School
Community school · 941 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.8
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.