The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School
Towndam Lane, Donington, Spalding, PE11 4TR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sophie Foston
- Federation
- Horizon Schools Federation
- Constituency
- South Holland and The Deepings
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 259
- URN
- 120556
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01775820467
About this school
The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School is a voluntary controlled primary school in Spalding. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 259 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 38 | 46 | 34 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 52% | 41% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 7% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 55% | 59% | 56% |
| Expected standard in maths | 45% | 67% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 45% | 65% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lincolnshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 41% | 56.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 261 |
| 2023/24 | 261 |
| 2024/25 | 254 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School compares
The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School ranked 214th of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 12% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41% | 6.5% | 39.8% | 259 | — |
| Quadring Cowley & Brown's Primary School | 94% | 5.3% | 23.3% | 98 | 1.1 miles |
| Gosberton Academy | 80% | 4.6% | 32.1% | 137 | 3.1 miles |
| Clough and Risegate Community Primary School | 43% | 3.1% | 21.1% | 91 | 3.5 miles |
| Swineshead St Mary's Church of England Primary School | — | 4.9% | 30.5% | 240 | 3.7 miles |
| The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton | — | 4.9% | 22.5% | 143 | 4.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.76%
- English as an additional language
- 4.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.45%
- Persistent absence
- 17.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Quadring Cowley & Brown's Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Spalding
-
Gosberton Academy3.1 miles
Primary · Spalding
-
Clough and Risegate Community Primary School3.5 miles
Primary · Spalding
-
Swineshead St Mary's Church of England Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Boston
-
The Fourfields Church of England School, Sutterton4.8 miles
Primary · Boston
Other schools in Spalding
The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School ranks 25th of the 30 ranked primary schools in Spalding.
- Clough and Risegate Community Primary School Primary
- Deeping St Nicholas Primary School Primary
- Fleet Wood Lane School Primary
- Gedney Church End Primary Academy Primary
- Gedney Drove End Primary School Primary
- Gosberton Academy Primary
- Holbeach Bank Primary Academy Primary
- Holbeach Primary Academy Primary
- Long Sutton County Primary School Primary
- Lutton St Nicholas Primary Academy Primary
- Monkshouse Primary Academy Primary
- Moulton Chapel Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School teach?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Spalding.
- Who is the headteacher of The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School is Mrs Sophie Foston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School has 259 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School full?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School has capacity for 270 pupils and 259 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School part of an academy trust?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School is part of the Horizon Schools Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2022/23 and 41% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School compare with other schools in Lincolnshire?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School ranked 214th of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 12% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School's absence rate?
- The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.