Northampton Academy
Wellingborough Road, Northampton, NN3 8NH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Owen Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Northampton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,570
- Pupils on roll
- 1,712
- URN
- 134814
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604210017
About this school
Northampton Academy is a Christian secondary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,712 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 267 | 292 | 295 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.1 | 52.2 | 52.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.00 +0.83 to +1.18 | +0.87 +0.70 to +1.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 62% | 55.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 76% | 74.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 39% | 46.2% | 40.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Northampton Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.1 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.2 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.1 | 35.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,721 |
| 2023/24 | 1,704 |
| 2024/25 | 1,719 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Northampton Academy compares
Northampton Academy ranked 4th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.1 | 7.4% | 25.4% | 1,712 | — |
| Weston Favell Academy | 41.8 | 10.1% | 38.1% | 1,431 | 0.6 miles |
| St Thomas Becket Catholic School | 38.7 | 9.8% | 29.6% | 912 | 1.4 miles |
| Northampton School for Girls | 54.9 | 6.4% | 16.6% | 1,670 | 1.8 miles |
| Northampton School | — | 4.9% | 10.1% | 650 | 1.8 miles |
| Northampton School for Boys | 58.2 | 4.4% | 10.6% | 1,756 | 1.9 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.
Inspection history
- 21 March 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report13 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.43%
- English as an additional language
- 35.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.4%
- Persistent absence
- 17.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Weston Favell Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
St Thomas Becket Catholic School1.4 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School for Girls1.8 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School1.8 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School for Boys1.9 miles
Secondary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
Northampton Academy ranks 4th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Northampton.
- Abbeyfield School Secondary
- Campion School Secondary
- Guilsborough Academy Secondary
- Kingsthorpe College Secondary
- Malcolm Arnold Academy Secondary
- Moulton School and Science College Secondary
- Northampton School Secondary
- Northampton School for Boys Secondary
- Northampton School for Girls Secondary
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School Secondary
- Weston Favell Academy Secondary
- Camrose Early Years Centre for Children & Families Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Northampton Academy teach?
- Northampton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Northampton.
- Who is the principal of Northampton Academy?
- The principal of Northampton Academy is Mr Owen Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Northampton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Northampton Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Northampton Academy?
- Northampton Academy has 1,712 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Northampton Academy full?
- Northampton Academy has capacity for 1,570 pupils and 1,712 on roll (109%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Northampton Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Northampton Academy is designated Christian.
- Is Northampton Academy a selective school?
- No. Northampton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Northampton Academy?
- Northampton Academy is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Northampton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.1 in 2022/23 and 52.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Northampton Academy rank locally?
- Northampton Academy ranked 4th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Northampton Academy's absence rate?
- Northampton Academy's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Northampton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Northampton Academy'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 1 July 2026.