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Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn

Secondary Ages 11-18 1,015 pupils Lincoln
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Lincoln

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn is an academy converter in Lincoln for pupils aged 11 to 18. It has 1,015 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn is Good, from an inspection in November 2024. In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.6, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Ofsted inspection: November 2024. GCSE results: 2026. A-level results: 2025.

Type Secondary / Academy converter
Age Range 11-18
Religion Unknown
Address Main Road
Welbourn
Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN5 0PA
Phone 01400272422
Reference Number 138839

General Makeup

Number of pupils 1015
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 51.33%
Girls: 48.67%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 23.4%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.9%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 20.1

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 105 83 188
8 86 88 174
9 97 76 173
10 107 102 209
11 78 85 163
12 30 40 70
13 18 20 38

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 94.2%
White, Other 1.8%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.7%
White & Asian 0.6%
Mixed, Other 0.4%
Asian, Other 0.4%
Unclassified 0.3%
White & Black (African) 0.2%
Indian 0.1%
African 0.1%
Irish 0.1%

Sir William Robertson Academy in Welbourn has demonstrated effective action in maintaining its standards following its previous inspection. The school is part of the Aspire Schools Trust, which plays a role in its management. The school embodies a strong sense of community, prioritizing social inclusion and working hard to ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), participate actively in school life. Pupils exhibit a positive attitude towards learning, behave respectfully, and feel safe, contributing to a favorable learning environment.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 15 Oct 2024
Date Report
15 Oct 2024 School inspection
19 Mar 2019 Short inspection
17 Jun 2015 Full inspection:
23 Sep 2014 Monitoring visit
21 Nov 2013 Monitoring visit
18 Jun 2013 Full inspection:
02 Oct 2012 Academy conversion letter
23 Apr 2012 Curriculum and development visit
Previously as The Sir William Robertson High School, Welbourn
20 Oct 2011 Monitoring visit
10 May 2010 Full inspection:
16 May 2007 Full inspection:
15 Oct 2001 Full inspection

Strengths

  • High expectations and aspirations shared by staff and pupils
  • Inclusive practices allowing all pupils to engage fully
  • Broad and balanced curriculum at key stages 3 and 4
  • Strong support for weaker readers to improve literacy skills
  • Effective career guidance and extensive enrichment opportunities

Areas for Improvement

  • Assessment not always used effectively to determine learning needs

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
46.6

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 44.5%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 68.3%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade C+ C+ C+
Average Grade (best 3) C+ C+ C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 3.6%
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Year 7 admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 170 24
Third Preference 136 7
From another Local Authority 77 23

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn had 985 pupils for 838 places. That is 147 more pupils than the school has room for.

Pupils and places

Year 7 intake in the “Welbourn Secondary” planning area

Lincolnshire counted 175 Year 7 pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 208 in 2031–32, up 19%.

201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 838838838838838838838873873873838838
Pupils 8347987397287778288279469871,0511,017985
Unfilled 0.5%4.8%11.8%13.1%7.3%1.2%1.3%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%

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 Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 5.0%5.6%4.7%5.2%5.2%5.2%6.1%7.8%7.7%7.6%7.0%
Unauthorised absence 0.7%0.4%0.4%0.6%0.7%0.5%1.1%1.5%2.0%2.0%1.8%
Severely absent pupils 1.2%0.7%1.0%0.6%1.3%0.5%0.8%2.7%2.9%3.4%3.4%

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, 5.9% of pupils at Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 1.32.31.82.93.73.84.84.56.67.012.111.1
Permanent exclusions 011111000131

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 Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 10.810.29.99.410.911.310.711.511.111.112.111.510.79.5
Teachers who left state teaching 5.4%9.3%9.8%9.5%12.9%5.8%6.6%5.4%7.0%1.7%13.1%9.5%3.3%–
Teachers who took any sick leave –75.0%77.0%64.5%66.7%66.7%70.1%–47.8%84.8%92.4%72.5%65.2%–
Sick days per teacher –4.74.83.94.63.96.8–3.38.96.18.95.8–

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, 16.3% of pupils at Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Specific learning difficulty 52 11
Social, emotional and mental health 30 21
Autistic spectrum disorder 20 18
Moderate learning difficulty 27 6
No specialist assessment of need 17 0
Speech, language and communication needs 12 4
Physical disability 3 2
Other difficulty or disability 3 1
Vision impairment 1 2
Hearing impairment 0 2
Multi-sensory impairment 0 1

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 Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn received £7,796 and spent £8,113 for each of its 994 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £947,000 (£953 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Aspire Schools Trust, income was £7,272 and spending £8,230 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £484,000£422,000£512,000£551,000£992,000£1,151,000£947,000
per pupil £579£463£541£556£947£1,120£953
In-year balance £68,000-£63,000£86,000£244,000£485,000£439,000-£315,000
per pupil £82-£69£91£246£464£427-£317

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.

Name Distance
The Welbourn Church of England Primary School
High Street, Welbourn, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0NH
0.72 miles
Leadenham Church of England Academy
Main Road, Leadenham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0QB
0.9 miles
Brant Broughton Church of England and Methodist Primary School
Brant Broughton Primary School, Mill Lane, Brant Broughton, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0RP
3.03 miles
Navenby Church of England Primary School
East Road, Navenby, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0EP
3.41 miles
Caythorpe Primary School
High Street, Caythorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG32 3DR
3.42 miles
Cranwell Primary School (Foundation)
Cranwell, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 8HH
3.67 miles
Coleby Church of England Primary Academy
Rectory Road, Coleby, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0AJ
4.72 miles
Name Distance
Broughton House College
High Street, Lincoln, LN5 0SL
2.87 miles

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

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn is part of Aspire Schools Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

What is Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn have?

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn has 1,015 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn cover?

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.6, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn?

Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn is at Main Road, Welbourn, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0PA.

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