Frequently Asked Questions

Fledge is a mobile app that helps UK parents find and compare secondary schools. We bring together official data from the Department for Education, Ofsted, and other government sources into one easy-to-use app — so you can make informed decisions without drowning in spreadsheets.

Fledge is designed for parents and guardians of children approaching secondary school age (typically Year 5 and 6). Whether you're just starting to think about schools or deep into the application process, Fledge helps you navigate the options.

We're parents too. When our own kids started approaching secondary school age, we found the process overwhelming — information scattered across dozens of websites, confusing jargon, and no easy way to compare schools. We built Fledge to solve our own problem, then realised every parent deserves these tools.

Fledge is currently available on iOS (iPhone and iPad). We're working hard on our Android app — sign up on our homepage to be notified when it launches!

All our school data comes from official UK government sources:

• Get Information About Schools (GIAS) — Basic school information, contact details, and demographics
• Inspection Bodies — Ofsted (England), Estyn (Wales), Education Scotland, and ETI (Northern Ireland)
• Department for Education — GCSE & A-Level results, Progress 8, and Attainment 8 scores
• Devolved Government Sources — Gov.wales, Gov.scot, and Education-NI

We update our data regularly to ensure accuracy.

We pull data directly from official government databases, so it's as accurate as the source. However, school information can change — we recommend verifying key details directly with schools, especially for admissions deadlines and open day dates.

Progress 8 measures how much progress students make between the end of primary school (Key Stage 2) and their GCSEs, compared to similar students nationally. A score of 0 is average, positive means above average progress, negative means below. It's considered a more reliable measure of school effectiveness than raw exam results because it accounts for students' starting points.

In England, Ofsted rates schools on a four-point scale:

• Outstanding — Exceptional quality of education
• Good — High quality, meeting expectations
• Requires Improvement — Not yet good, but not inadequate
• Inadequate — Significant weaknesses, may be in special measures

Wales (Estyn), Scotland (Education Scotland), and Northern Ireland (ETI) have similar rating systems. Most schools are rated Good or equivalent.

Fledge covers secondary schools across all four UK nations. If you can't find a school, it might be because:

• It's a primary school (we only cover secondary)
• It's an independent/private school not in government databases
• The school recently opened and isn't yet in official databases

Try adjusting your search radius or filters. If you still can't find it, let us know.

You can browse schools without an account. However, creating a free account lets you save schools to your shortlist, add personal notes, and sync your data across devices.

Enter your postcode or allow location access, and Fledge will show you schools within your chosen radius (up to 15 miles). You can then filter by Ofsted rating, school type, gender, religious character, and more.

Yes! Add up to 3 schools to your compare list, then view them side by side to see how they stack up on key metrics like Ofsted ratings, Progress 8, distance, and more.

When you save a school, you can opt in to receive push notifications when that school has an upcoming open day. Never miss a chance to visit a school on your shortlist.

Location access is optional but makes searching easier. If you allow it, we can automatically find schools near you. Your location is only used locally to calculate distances — we never store it on our servers. You can always search by postcode instead.

Fledge helps you research and shortlist schools, but applications are handled through your local authority's admissions portal. We provide direct links to the relevant admissions pages to make the process easier.

For some schools, we show an estimated likelihood of admission based on historical data — how oversubscribed the school is and the typical distance of the furthest admitted student. This is indicative only and shouldn't be relied upon as a guarantee. Admissions decisions are made by individual schools based on their published criteria.

Most parents start researching in Year 5 (when their child is 9-10). Open days typically run September to December, and applications are usually due by 31st October for the following September's intake. Starting early gives you time to visit schools and make considered decisions.

We collect minimal data: your email (if you create an account), your saved schools, and any notes you add. Location data is processed locally and never stored on our servers. We don't sell your data to anyone. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

You can delete your account at any time from the Settings tab in the app. This permanently removes your account and all associated data, including saved schools and notes. This action cannot be undone.

Yes. We use industry-standard encryption and secure cloud infrastructure (Firebase by Google) to protect your data. Your saved schools and notes are only accessible when you're logged in to your account.