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The Gainsborough Academy

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formLincolnshire, East Midlands · Gainsborough DN21 1PBTrust: Wickersley Partnership TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
767of 1,200 places
Free school meals
65.4%
Year 11 cohort 2025
119
Ofsted
Requires improvement, 10 July 2024Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Gainsborough Academy (URN 135666, until 31 May 2018).

What the data says

The Gainsborough Academy has no sixth form. Of the 125 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 8% moved to a sixth form college, 67% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.

Statistics is unusually popular at GCSE: 100% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.

GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 38.0 against 46.1 across England and 45.1 in Lincolnshire, with 24% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in Spanish and French add up to 10% of the year group, and 12% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Lincolnshire and England.

The Gainsborough Academy
Lincolnshire
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThe Gainsborough AcademyLincolnshireEngland
Pupils in the cohort1258,198607,348
Any sustained destination88%92%92%
Stayed in education79%86%86%
— school sixth form4%40%34%
— sixth form college8%4%13%
— further education college67%41%37%
— other education0%2%2%
Apprenticeship5%4%3%
Employment4%3%3%
No sustained destination9%6%6%
Destination unknown3%2%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureThe Gainsborough AcademyLincolnshireEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)38.045.146.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths24%42%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths48%63%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects12%37%41%
EBacc average point score3.063.984.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort54%27%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils36.033.834.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils40.349.250.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language8%12%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language119100%89%8%20%54%
Mathematics119100%88%3%22%58%
Statistics119100%5%0%20%39%
English Literature119100%86%3%21%45%
Combined Science8471%65%2%9%67%
History8067%41%3%26%35%
Fine Art3630%9%6%28%50%
Physics3529%23%0%46%6%
Biology3529%23%0%45%11%
Chemistry3529%23%0%47%9%
Geography2319%41%13%25%43%
Business Studies1916%18%5%20%26%
Drama108%7%10%27%30%
Photography76%6%0%19%0%
Spanish76%19%14%27%100%
Polish65%1%33%84%100%
French54%18%29%
Turkish11%0%71%
Portuguese11%0%50%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Computer Appreciation / Introduction40
Hospitality / Catering Studies35
Sports Studies26
Childcare Skills23
Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined)19
Manufacturing Engineering19
Health Studies18

Other secondary schools in Lincolnshire

Boston High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 837 pupils

95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 58.8

Bourne Academy

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,573 pupils

88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.2

Bourne Grammar School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,718 pupils

97% stayed in education · Attainment 8 68.6

Caistor Grammar School

Academy converter · sixth form · 690 pupils

97% stayed in education · Attainment 8 69.8

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.