The Priory City of Lincoln Academy

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is a school where leadership has changed significantly since the previous inspection, and improvement work is at an early stage. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school's personal development and wellbeing provision is a clear strength: pupils benefit from a well-designed programme, a wide range of enrichment activities, high-quality careers guidance and strong pastoral care. The sixth form also performs well, with well-sequenced curriculums, high-quality work placements and strong retention and achievement. However, several key areas require attention. Achievement across subjects is not yet secure, and by the end of key stage 4 not enough pupils achieve the GCSE outcomes they are capable of, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Attendance remains a concern, with overall and persistent absence above national averages, although improving. Behaviour is inconsistent: some pupils show poor attitudes to learning, low-level disruption is not always challenged, and some staff feel unsupported in managing behaviour. Teaching quality is too variable, writing skills are underdeveloped, and support for pupils with SEND is not consistently effective. Leaders have identified the right priorities and are taking action, but these improvements are in their infancy and have not yet had a sufficiently positive impact.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is thoughtfully designed and meets the expected standard.
• A wide range of enrichment opportunities is available, with strong uptake and equal participation by disadvantaged pupils.
• Careers guidance is high quality and impartial, leading to an exceptionally low proportion of pupils not in education, employment or training after Year 11.
• The sixth form offers well-sequenced curriculums, high-quality work placements and strong retention, with students typically achieving well.
• Pastoral care is a strength, with effective support for mental health and wellbeing.
• Pupils have positive relationships with staff and most behave sensibly around the school.
• Leaders and trustees make decisions in the best interests of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, children in care and young carers.
• The school works effectively with external agencies and the virtual school to support vulnerable pupils.
• Alternative provision is commissioned appropriately, with robust checks on welfare, safety and progress.
• Leaders have established a high-quality professional learning programme for staff, which is beginning to secure improvements in teaching.
• Trustees meet statutory duties and hold leaders to account well, including for pupil premium spending.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement across several subjects is not yet secure, and GCSE outcomes at the end of key stage 4 do not reflect pupils' full potential.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should, with a persistent disadvantage gap.
• Attendance remains a concern, with overall and persistent absence above national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
• Some pupils do not have positive attitudes to learning or respect for staff and other pupils, leading to disengagement.
• Low-level disruption and apathy in lessons are not consistently challenged, and some staff feel unsupported in managing behaviour.
• Teaching quality is too variable, and checks on learning are not always used effectively to inform future teaching.
• Pupils' written work is not always of high quality, with basic errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Support for pupils with SEND is inconsistently applied, and strategies are not precise enough to ensure all pupils access the curriculum well.
• Leaders do not monitor the impact of SEND interventions thoroughly enough.
• Leadership improvement work is in the early stages and has not yet had a positive enough impact on achievement, behaviour and teaching.
• Some staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can do and achieve.
• Suspensions are high, though reducing.
• Some pupils are not confident that staff deal with derogatory language or bullying well.
• A minority of staff express concerns about workload.

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 City of Lincoln Academy attended 86.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.2% 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, 18.0% of pupils at The Priory City of Lincoln Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 13 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 City of Lincoln Academy had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.2% 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, 19.2% of pupils at The Priory City of Lincoln Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% 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 City of Lincoln Academy received £9,410 and spent £9,207 for each of its 947 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £411,000 (-£434 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 City of Lincoln Academy is part of The Priory Federation of Academies, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• The Priory Witham Academy Lincoln
• Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School Lincoln
• The Priory Academy LSST Lincoln
• Ling Moor Primary Academy 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 City of Lincoln Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Priory City of Lincoln Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Priory City of Lincoln Academy have?

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy has 922 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Priory City of Lincoln Academy cover?

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Priory City of Lincoln Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.3, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Priory City of Lincoln Academy?

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is at Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 0EP.