Walton Academy
Harlaxton Road, Grantham, NG31 7JR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- DIVERSE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Caroline Saxelby
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Diverse Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Grantham and Bourne
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 822
- URN
- 136624
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01476563251
About this school
Walton Academy is a secondary academy in Grantham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 822 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 125 | 175 | 172 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 | 38.6 | 41.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.43 +0.18 to +0.69 | -0.16 -0.38 to +0.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 26.9% | 26.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 49.1% | 53.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 29.1% | 19.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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 Walton 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 | 48 | 42.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.6 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.1 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 942 |
| 2023/24 | 997 |
| 2024/25 | 903 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Walton Academy compares
Walton Academy ranked 28th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 42% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.1 | 10.5% | 38% | 822 | — |
| West Grantham Church of England Secondary Academy | 40.3 | 8.6% | 54.6% | 486 | 0.7 miles |
| The King's School, Grantham | 72.7 | 4.3% | 6.8% | 1,221 | 1.4 miles |
| Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School | 68.8 | 4.3% | 7.8% | 1,238 | 1.4 miles |
| The Priory Ruskin Academy | 41.4 | 8.6% | 31% | 1,347 | 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)
- 38.02%
- English as an additional language
- 18.5%
- Overall absence
- 10.47%
- Persistent absence
- 28.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
West Grantham Church of England Secondary Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
The King's School, Grantham1.4 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School1.4 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
The Priory Ruskin Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Grantham
-
The Priory Belvoir Academy6.9 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
Other schools in Grantham
Walton Academy ranks 4th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Grantham.
- Charles Read Academy Secondary
- Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School Secondary
- The King's School, Grantham Secondary
- The Priory Ruskin 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 Walton Academy teach?
- Walton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Grantham.
- Who is the principal of Walton Academy?
- The principal of Walton Academy is Caroline Saxelby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Walton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Walton 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 Walton Academy?
- Walton Academy has 822 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Walton Academy full?
- Walton Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 822 on roll (91%), so it has space against 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 Walton Academy a faith school?
- No. Walton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Walton Academy a selective school?
- No. Walton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Walton Academy?
- Walton Academy is part of DIVERSE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Walton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48 in 2022/23 and 41.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Walton Academy rank locally?
- Walton Academy ranked 28th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 42% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Walton Academy's absence rate?
- Walton Academy's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Walton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Walton 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.