The Priory Ruskin Academy
Rushcliffe Road, Grantham, NG31 8ED
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE PRIORY FEDERATION OF ACADEMIES
- Headteacher
- Mr Ben Key
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Priory Federation of Academies
- Constituency
- Grantham and Bourne
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,347
- URN
- 136194
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01476410410
About this school
The Priory Ruskin Academy is a secondary academy in Grantham. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,347 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 17 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 231 | 241 | 221 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.7 | 41.3 | 41.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.15 -0.03 to +0.34 | +0.22 +0.04 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 25.3% | 22.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 50.6% | 55.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 16% | 21.6% | 15.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
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 Ruskin 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 | 43.7 | 42.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.3 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,406 |
| 2023/24 | 1,406 |
| 2024/25 | 1,379 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Priory Ruskin Academy compares
The Priory Ruskin Academy ranked 27th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.4 | 8.6% | 31% | 1,347 | — |
| The King's School, Grantham | 72.7 | 4.3% | 6.8% | 1,221 | 0.5 miles |
| Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School | 68.8 | 4.3% | 7.8% | 1,238 | 0.8 miles |
| West Grantham Church of England Secondary Academy | 40.3 | 8.6% | 54.6% | 486 | 1.4 miles |
| Walton Academy | 41.1 | 10.5% | 38% | 822 | 1.9 miles |
| The Priory Belvoir Academy | 46.3 | 7.3% | 16.3% | 672 | 6.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.95%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.6%
- Persistent absence
- 26.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The King's School, Grantham0.5 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School0.8 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
West Grantham Church of England Secondary Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
Walton Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
The Priory Belvoir Academy6.9 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Grantham
The Priory Ruskin Academy ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Grantham.
- Charles Read Academy Secondary
- Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Secondary
- The King's School, Grantham Secondary
- Walton Academy Secondary
- West Grantham Church of England Secondary Academy Secondary
- Wyndham Park Nursery School Nursery
- Allington with Sedgebrook Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ancaster CofE Primary School Primary
- Barkston and Syston CofE Primary School Primary
- Barrowby Church of England Primary School Primary
- Belmont Community Primary School Primary
- Belton Lane Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Priory Ruskin Academy teach?
- The Priory Ruskin Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Grantham.
- Who is the headteacher of The Priory Ruskin Academy?
- The headteacher of The Priory Ruskin Academy is Mr Ben Key, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Priory Ruskin Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Priory Ruskin 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 The Priory Ruskin Academy?
- The Priory Ruskin Academy has 1,347 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Priory Ruskin Academy full?
- The Priory Ruskin Academy has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,347 on roll (108%), 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 The Priory Ruskin Academy a faith school?
- No. The Priory Ruskin Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Priory Ruskin Academy a selective school?
- No. The Priory Ruskin Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Priory Ruskin Academy?
- The Priory Ruskin 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 Ruskin Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.7 in 2022/23 and 41.4 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 Ruskin Academy rank locally?
- The Priory Ruskin Academy ranked 27th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% 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 Ruskin Academy's absence rate?
- The Priory Ruskin Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Priory Ruskin Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Priory Ruskin 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.