Mercer's Wood Academy

Mercer’s Wood Academy has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, going from Requires Improvement to a Good rating across all areas assessed. The school fosters a supportive and caring environment which enables pupils to thrive and develop positive relationships with staff and peers. Children display happiness and pride in their school, demonstrating appreciation for the dedication of their teachers and a strong commitment to learning. Leaders have established high expectations and a clear curriculum that is aligned with pupils’ learning needs, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Strong leadership has led to significant school improvement.
• Pupils exhibit good behaviour and positive attitudes towards learning.
• The curriculum is well-structured and communicates clear learning objectives.
• Teachers effectively assess and reinforce pupils' learning.
• Strong emphasis on reading and personal development.
• Established a caring and supportive school environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Some reading materials do not match the phonetic knowledge of all pupils, affecting their reading progress.
• A significant number of pupils are persistently absent, impacting their learning.

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 Mercer's Wood Academy attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 31.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 14.1% of pupils at Mercer's Wood Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 3 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 Mercer's Wood Academy had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 65.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 22.9% of pupils at Mercer's Wood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Mercer's Wood Academy received £9,523 and spent £9,424 for each of its 177 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £323,000 (£1,824 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Tall Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, income was £8,345 and spending £7,971 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 Gainsborough · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Mercer's Wood Academy is part of Tall Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Castle Wood Academy Gainsborough
• White's Wood Academy Gainsborough

What is Mercer's Wood Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mercer's Wood Academy is Good, from an inspection in October 2022.

When was Mercer's Wood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Mercer's Wood Academy was last inspected in October 2022.

How many pupils does Mercer's Wood Academy have?

Mercer's Wood Academy has 157 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mercer's Wood Academy cover?

Mercer's Wood Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Mercer's Wood Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 29% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mercer's Wood Academy?

Mercer's Wood Academy is at Ropery Road, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 2PD.