King's Lynn Academy

King's Lynn Academy is a school that is generally performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding judged as met. Pupils enjoy attending a friendly, caring school, attendance is close to national averages and behaviour is typically good. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, teaching is generally strong, and provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a notable strength, including the Forward Step specialist resource base for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Leadership has made decisive improvements since the last inspection, and personal development, pastoral care and extra-curricular opportunities are extensive. However, achievement is the clear weak spot. Published outcomes show that too many pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, have not achieved the qualifications they need, and many have gaps in foundational English and maths. The school is beginning to improve, with younger pupils progressing better and disadvantaged pupils' gaps closing, but these changes are at an early stage. Some teaching checks do not accurately identify what pupils know, so tasks are not always well matched, and reading, writing and communication are not consistently strengthened. Quality assurance is not precise enough to drive rapid improvement. The school is part of Eastern Multi Academy Trust and serves a pupil population with a well-above-average proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans. It also includes the Forward Step resource base, which supports pupils at risk of exclusion. Overall, the school is moving in the right direction in most areas, but improving outcomes for all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, remains the key priority.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly, with attendance close to national averages.
• Behaviour is typically good; pupils are polite, respectful and keen to learn.
• Staff have high expectations and learning is rarely disrupted.
• The Forward Step specialist resource base is impressively successful at supporting pupils with SEMH needs.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and logically sequenced.
• Teaching is generally strong, with clear explanations and effective models.
• Provision for pupils with SEND is effective; barriers are accurately diagnosed and teaching is adapted well.
• Pupils with SEND progress well from their starting points.
• Leaders have made decisive improvements since the last inspection.
• Staff feel valued and supported, and professional development is highly regarded.
• Personal development and pastoral support are impressive.
• The extra-curricular offer is extensive and enthusiastically taken up.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Pupils read well, and those at the earliest stages catch up.
• Vulnerable pupils, including looked after pupils, are well supported through external links.
• Pupils learn about fundamental British values and develop respect and tolerance.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes show pupils have not achieved as well as they should over time.
• Too many pupils do not achieve the qualifications they need for their next steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve well; many lack foundational English and maths knowledge.
• Use of the pupil premium grant has been broad and generic, and the impact of recent changes is at an early stage.
• Curriculum checks are not fully embedded and sometimes do not accurately identify what pupils know.
• Some pupils are not moved on to more challenging work when ready or wait too long for support.
• Teaching does not consistently strengthen reading, writing and communication, including reading accuracy and speed.
• Opportunities for pupils to write in depth are sometimes missed.
• Quality assurance and monitoring lack precision, slowing the pace of improvement.
• Behaviour interventions can be inconsistent when teachers are less familiar with school approaches.
• Leaders do not track the impact of extra-curricular participation with enough precision.
• Writing sometimes lacks substance and does not reflect pupils' depth of understanding.
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils remain well below national averages.
• Destinations after 16 have been below national averages in some years.

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 King's Lynn Academy attended 90.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.8% 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, 7.2% of pupils at King's Lynn Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 King's Lynn Academy had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 17.4% of pupils at King's Lynn Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.8% 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 King's Lynn Academy received £8,470 and spent £8,375 for each of its 953 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £622,000 (£653 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,459 and spending £7,372 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 King'S Lynn · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

King's Lynn Academy is part of Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Parkway Academy King'S Lynn
• Eastgate Academy King'S Lynn
• North Wootton Academy King'S Lynn
• Nelson Academy Downham Market
• Emneth Academy Wisbech
• Upwell Academy Wisbech
• Southery Academy Downham Market
• Glade Academy Brandon
• Admirals Academy Thetford
• Raleigh Infant Academy Thetford

What is King's Lynn Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for King's Lynn Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was King's Lynn Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

King's Lynn Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does King's Lynn Academy have?

King's Lynn Academy has 972 pupils on roll.

What age range does King's Lynn Academy cover?

King's Lynn Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are King's Lynn Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.0, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is King's Lynn Academy?

King's Lynn Academy is at Queen Mary Road, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4QG.