The Priory Witham Academy

The Priory Witham Academy is performing well as a good school, maintaining a strong focus on the well-being and aspirations of its pupils. The curriculum is well-planned and ambitious, ensuring that students are prepared for future educational stages. The school nurtures a caring atmosphere where pupils feel safe, happy, and engaged in their learning. However, some areas, such as maintaining consistent attendance and checking prior knowledge effectively in lessons, need improvement to enhance student outcomes further.

Strengths

• Caring school community with a strong spirit.
• Well-planned and ambitious curriculum across all key stages.
• High priority on teaching reading and phonics.
• Wide range of extra-curricular activities and community events.
• Effective safeguarding measures in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils have poor attendance.
• Inconsistent checks on prior learning in some lessons.
• Some pupils lack confidence in class discussions.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Priory Witham Academy attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 6.9% of pupils at The Priory Witham Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Priory Witham Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 30.2% of pupils at The Priory Witham Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Priory Witham Academy received £9,140 and spent £9,315 for each of its 1,069 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,868,000 (£1,747 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Priory Federation of Academies, income was £8,686 and spending £8,648 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Lincoln · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

The Priory Witham Academy is part of The Priory Federation of Academies, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• The Priory City of Lincoln Academy Lincoln
• Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School Lincoln
• Ling Moor Primary Academy Lincoln
• The Priory Academy LSST Lincoln
• Bracebridge Heath St John's Primary Academy Lincoln
• Waddington Redwood Primary Academy Lincoln
• Heighington Millfield Primary Academy Lincoln
• Cherry Willingham Primary Academy Lincoln
• The Priory Pembroke Academy Lincoln
• The Priory Ruskin Academy Grantham

What is The Priory Witham Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Priory Witham Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was The Priory Witham Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Priory Witham Academy was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does The Priory Witham Academy have?

The Priory Witham Academy has 1,068 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Priory Witham Academy cover?

The Priory Witham Academy for pupils aged 2 to 18.

What are The Priory Witham Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.7, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are The Priory Witham Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Priory Witham Academy?

The Priory Witham Academy is at De Wint Avenue, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 7DT.