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Kirton Academy

Secondary Ages 11-16 406 pupils Gainsborough
Ofsted: Inadequate
All schools in Gainsborough

Kirton Academy is an academy converter in Gainsborough for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 406 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Kirton Academy is Inadequate, from an inspection in April 2022 of its predecessor, Huntcliff School. In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.7, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE. Suspensions are common here, with 26.4 in every 100 pupils suspended at least once in 2024/25 (nationally, 7.3). It has plenty of spare room: 55% of its places were unfilled in 2024/25, more than at most secondary schools.

GCSE results: 2026.

Type Secondary / Academy converter
Age Range 11-16
Religion Does not apply
Address Redbourne Mere
Gainsborough
North Lincolnshire
DN21 4NN
Phone 01652648276
Reference Number 150867

General Makeup

Number of pupils 406
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.2%
Girls: 46.8%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 47%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 4.7%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 19.8

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 51 26 77
8 43 38 81
9 33 38 71
10 41 44 85
11 48 44 92

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 91.4%
White, Other 3.4%
Indian 1.7%
Mixed, Other 0.7%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.5%
White & Asian 0.5%
Unclassified 0.5%
African 0.5%
Chinese 0.2%
Pakistani 0.2%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Huntcliff School, inspected in April 2022.

Overall Ofsted Rating Inadequate
Last Report Date This school has not had an inspection yet.
Date Report

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)
39.7

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 25%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 45.7%

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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Year 7 admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 39 8
Third Preference 27 0
From another Local Authority 91 51

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Kirton Academy had 392 pupils for 870 places. 478 places (54.9%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Year 7 intake in the “Kirton” planning area

North Lincolnshire counted 87 Year 7 pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 73 in 2031–32, down 16%.

20242025
Places 870870
Pupils 429392
Unfilled 50.7%54.9%

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 Kirton Academy attended 88.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20242025
Authorised absence 7.2%7.3%
Unauthorised absence 6.2%4.0%
Severely absent pupils 8.8%7.1%

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, 26.4% of pupils at Kirton Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 118.5
Permanent exclusions 3

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 Kirton Academy had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20252026
Pupils per adult 8.69.2
Teachers who left state teaching 14.6%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 69.0%–
Sick days per teacher 13.2–

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, 31.8% of pupils at Kirton Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 47 6
Moderate learning difficulty 29 10
Autistic spectrum disorder 17 9
Specific learning difficulty 20 2
Speech, language and communication needs 7 3
Physical disability 4 2
No specialist assessment of need 4 0
Other difficulty or disability 1 2
Severe learning difficulty 0 1
Vision 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 Kirton Academy received £10,617 and spent £10,676 for each of its 394 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £332,000 (£841 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust, income was £8,133 and spending £8,144 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2025
Revenue reserve £332,000
per pupil £841
In-year balance -£23,000
per pupil -£59

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
Kirton Lindsey Primary Academy
Cornwall Street, Kirton Lindsey, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 4EH
0.57 miles
Waddingham Primary School
The Green, Waddingham, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 4SX
3.14 miles
Hibaldstow Academy
Hopfield, Hibaldstow, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, DN20 9PN
3.35 miles
Willoughton Primary School
Northfield Lane, Willoughton, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 5RT
3.48 miles
Scotter Primary School
High Street, Scotter, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 3RY
3.55 miles
Scawby Academy
West Street, Scawby, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, DN20 9AN
4.41 miles
Messingham Primary School
Briggate Drive, Messingham, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, DN17 3TN
4.5 miles
Name Distance

All schools in Gainsborough · North Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Kirton Academy is part of Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

What is Kirton Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kirton Academy is Inadequate, from an inspection in April 2022 of its predecessor, Huntcliff School.

How many pupils does Kirton Academy have?

Kirton Academy has 406 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kirton Academy cover?

Kirton Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Kirton Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.7, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kirton Academy?

Kirton Academy is at Redbourne Mere, Gainsborough, North Lincolnshire, DN21 4NN.

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