The Boston Grammar School

The Boston Grammar School is a school that is performing well overall, with several areas of strength. Pupils attend very well, behaviour is excellent, and they feel safe and proud to be part of the school community. The curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced, and teaching is generally effective, though some inconsistencies remain. Inclusion is a growing strength, with well-organised support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Leadership and governance are effective, with clear strategic direction and strong moral purpose. The school's personal development programme and post-16 provision are also strengths, preparing pupils well for their next steps.

Strengths

• Pupils attend very well, with attendance above national averages and persistent absence below average.
• Pupils' behaviour is excellent, both in lessons and around the school.
• Bullying is rare, and pupils are confident that staff deal with concerns effectively.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced, with clear plans for what pupils should learn.
• Teaching is generally effective, with teachers knowing pupils' needs well.
• Inclusion is a growing strength, with early identification of needs and tailored support.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from a clear strategy and targeted support.
• Leaders provide clear strategic direction and strong moral purpose.
• Governance is well organised, with trustees meeting statutory duties effectively.
• Staff feel highly valued and well supported, with high-quality professional development.
• The personal development programme is comprehensive, with a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities.
• Post-16 provision has improved, with students' progress now in line with national averages.
• Students receive extensive careers guidance, preparing them well for their future.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement in national examinations is variable, with some pupils, particularly high prior attainers and those with SEND, not achieving as well as they should.
• Progress for some pupils is not as strong as it could be, with inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.
• Some teachers do not make precise adaptations to meet pupils' needs in lessons.
• Occasionally, teachers do not pick up misunderstandings quickly enough.
• Some pupils who join with high prior attainment are not sufficiently challenged.
• Leaders should ensure that achievement is raised, particularly for high prior attainers, through consistently high-quality teaching.
• Leaders should ensure that teachers meet all pupils' needs more fully by making consistently precise and effective adaptations.

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 Boston Grammar School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 13.6% 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, 1.4% of pupils at The Boston Grammar School 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 The Boston Grammar School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% 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, 5.6% of pupils at The Boston Grammar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.5% 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 Boston Grammar School received £7,007 and spent £6,947 for each of its 874 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,221,000 (£1,397 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.

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What is The Boston Grammar School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Boston Grammar School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was The Boston Grammar School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Boston Grammar School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The Boston Grammar School have?

The Boston Grammar School has 924 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Boston Grammar School cover?

The Boston Grammar School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Boston Grammar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 54.7, and 61% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Boston Grammar School?

The Boston Grammar School is at South End, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6JY.