Lawrence Sheriff School

Lawrence Sheriff School is a highly effective school that performs strongly across most areas. A full section 5 inspection found that pupils achieve extremely well, with outcomes well above national averages and disadvantaged pupils performing particularly well. Attendance is consistently above national averages, behaviour is excellent, and pupils are happy and feel safe. Leadership and governance are significant strengths, staff feel very well supported, and the personal development and post-16 provision are highly effective. Safeguarding standards are met. However, the quality of curriculum and teaching and inclusion is at the expected standard rather than strong. In some lessons and subjects, assessment checks do not consistently identify gaps in pupils' knowledge, so staff cannot always help pupils secure what they need to remember. Targets for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are sometimes too general, and some teachers do not have a secure enough understanding of pupils' needs, meaning support strategies are not consistently well used. Leaders have already identified these areas for improvement. The school is part of Lawrence Sheriff Single Academy Trust and the inspection was a full section 5 inspection. Leaders should ensure that teachers have a clear understanding of pupils' needs and that checks on understanding are used consistently across subjects to address gaps swiftly.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve extremely well, with well-above national outcomes across the board.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well, exceeding non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Attendance is consistently above national averages.
• Behaviour is excellent, with a culture where behaviour starts from a place of care.
• Leadership and governance are significant strengths of the school.
• Governance is highly effective, with trustees providing appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff feel extremely well supported by leaders and value the high-quality professional learning.
• The personal development programme is comprehensive and highly effective.
• Care for pupils' social and emotional needs is highly responsive and tailored.
• Pupils have secure knowledge about staying safe, healthy relationships, and rights and responsibilities.
• Leaders promote tolerance and diversity very effectively.
• Opportunities beyond the academic are extensive and tailored to pupils' interests and talents.
• Careers education is carefully planned and highly effective.
• Post-16 provision is highly effective, with students achieving very highly.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious, and adapted for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of education, employment or training.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment checks are not consistently used across subjects to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge swiftly.
• At times, checks do not identify gaps in pupils' understanding, preventing staff from helping pupils secure subject knowledge.
• Targets for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are sometimes too general and do not specifically address their needs.
• On occasions, teachers do not have a secure enough understanding of pupils' needs.
• Strategies to support pupils with additional needs are not consistently well used.
• Curriculum and teaching are at expected standard because of inconsistencies in assessment practice.
• Inclusion is at expected standard because some aspects of provision are less well refined.

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 Lawrence Sheriff School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 6.8% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Lawrence Sheriff 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 Lawrence Sheriff School had 18.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.9% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Lawrence Sheriff School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.4% 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 Lawrence Sheriff School received £7,716 and spent £7,351 for each of its 1,201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,693,000 (£1,410 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 Lawrence Sheriff School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lawrence Sheriff School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Lawrence Sheriff School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lawrence Sheriff School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Lawrence Sheriff School have?

Lawrence Sheriff School has 1,200 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lawrence Sheriff School cover?

Lawrence Sheriff School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Lawrence Sheriff School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 75.7, and 97% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lawrence Sheriff School?

Lawrence Sheriff School is at Clifton Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 3AG.