John Whitgift Academy

John Whitgift Academy is a caring and ambitious secondary school where pupils enjoy attending and speak proudly of being part of the school community. Inspectors found behaviour and personal development to be outstanding, with pupils responding very well to high expectations, showing exceptional conduct in lessons, and benefiting from a wide range of leadership, enrichment and careers opportunities. Pupils are very well supported, including those with SEND, and many achieve well through a broad and ambitious curriculum. The quality of education and leadership and management were judged good. The school, which is part of Delta Academies Trust, has a strong culture of improvement, impressive work on attendance, and effective governance. Staff are proud to work there and parents are overwhelmingly positive. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that the curriculum does not always help pupils build on previous learning as well as it could, so some pupils struggle to make connections and apply new knowledge confidently. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school did not receive an overall effectiveness grade under the current inspection arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and value the care they receive.
• Pupils' conduct in lessons is exceptional and they respond very well to high behaviour expectations.
• Pupils make impressive progress through an ambitious curriculum and achieve well in examinations.
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified, swiftly supported and progress very well.
• The school has strengthened reading and provides bespoke support for pupils at the early stages of reading.
• Pupils benefit from an extensive range of well-attended enrichment and careers opportunities.
• Pupils take on leadership roles and gain skills that prepare them well for life in modern Britain.
• The school's strategic approach to improving attendance is impressive.
• Governance provides effective support and challenge, supporting significant improvement over time.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and parents are overwhelmingly positive.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum does not always help pupils build on previous learning as well as it could, so some pupils struggle to make connections and apply new knowledge confidently.

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 John Whitgift Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.4% 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, 9.5% of pupils at John Whitgift Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 John Whitgift Academy had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.7% 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, 11.4% of pupils at John Whitgift Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 John Whitgift Academy received £4,889 and spent £7,649 for each of its 1,055 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £895,000 (£848 per pupil).

Across all 62 schools of Delta Academies Trust, income was £7,459 and spending £7,562 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 Grimsby · North East Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

John Whitgift Academy is part of Delta Academies Trust, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Wybers Wood Academy Grimsby
• Willows Academy Grimsby
• Macaulay Primary Academy Grimsby
• Strand Primary Academy Grimsby
• Weelsby Academy Grimsby
• Worlaby Academy Brigg
• Craven Primary Academy Hull
• Estcourt Primary Academy Hull
• The Vale Academy Brigg
• Mersey Primary Academy Hull

What is John Whitgift Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John Whitgift Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was John Whitgift Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

John Whitgift Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does John Whitgift Academy have?

John Whitgift Academy has 1,070 pupils on roll.

What age range does John Whitgift Academy cover?

John Whitgift Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are John Whitgift Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.0, and 58% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is John Whitgift Academy?

John Whitgift Academy is at Crosland Road, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN37 9EH.