The Priory City of Lincoln Academy
Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln, LN6 0EP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE PRIORY FEDERATION OF ACADEMIES
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Whitaker
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Priory Federation of Academies
- Constituency
- Lincoln
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 950
- Pupils on roll
- 922
- URN
- 135564
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01522882800
About this school
The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is a secondary academy in Lincoln. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 922 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Priory City of Lincoln Academy, 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 154 | 167 | 174 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.0 | 34.0 | 35.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.33 -0.56 to -0.11 | -0.64 -0.86 to -0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 25.7% | 29.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 47.3% | 50% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 27.5% | 23.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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 The Priory City of Lincoln 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 | Lincolnshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40 | 42.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 35.6 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 986 |
| 2023/24 | 980 |
| 2024/25 | 944 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Priory City of Lincoln Academy compares
The Priory City of Lincoln Academy ranked 49th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35.6 | 13.5% | 35.4% | 922 | — |
| St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy | 37.7 | 9.9% | 33.8% | 601 | 0.4 miles |
| The Priory Academy LSST | 53.9 | 6.9% | 17% | 1,749 | 1.2 miles |
| Sir Robert Pattinson Academy | 45.9 | 6.9% | 20.7% | 1,310 | 2.0 miles |
| North Kesteven Academy | 37.9 | 12.9% | 32.7% | 587 | 2.1 miles |
| Lincoln UTC | 46.1 | 4.3% | 26.5% | 389 | 2.1 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
-
Graded inspection report9 December 2025
- 10 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 35.36%
- English as an additional language
- 12.2%
- Overall absence
- 13.5%
- Persistent absence
- 36.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
The Priory Academy LSST1.2 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
Sir Robert Pattinson Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
North Kesteven Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
Lincoln UTC2.1 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
Other schools in Lincoln
The Priory City of Lincoln Academy ranks 14th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Lincoln.
- Branston Community Academy Secondary
- Lincoln Castle Academy Secondary
- Lincoln Christ's Hospital School Secondary
- Lincoln UTC Secondary
- North Kesteven Academy Secondary
- Sir Robert Pattinson Academy Secondary
- Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn Secondary
- St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy Secondary
- The Barnes Wallis Academy Secondary
- The Priory Academy LSST Secondary
- The Priory Pembroke Academy Secondary
- William Farr CofE Comprehensive School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Priory City of Lincoln Academy teach?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Lincoln.
- Who is the headteacher of The Priory City of Lincoln Academy?
- The headteacher of The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is Mr Martin Whitaker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Priory City of Lincoln Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Priory City of Lincoln 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 many pupils are at The Priory City of Lincoln Academy?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy has 922 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Priory City of Lincoln Academy full?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy has capacity for 950 pupils and 922 on roll (97%), 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 Priory City of Lincoln Academy a faith school?
- No. The Priory City of Lincoln Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Priory City of Lincoln Academy a selective school?
- No. The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Priory City of Lincoln Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is part of THE PRIORY FEDERATION OF ACADEMIES. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Priory City of Lincoln Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40 in 2022/23 and 35.6 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 Priory City of Lincoln Academy compare with other schools in Lincolnshire?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy ranked 49th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% 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 Priory City of Lincoln Academy's absence rate?
- The Priory City of Lincoln Academy's overall absence rate is 13.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Priory City of Lincoln Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Priory City of Lincoln 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.