Bishop Stopford School
Headlands, Kettering, NN15 6BJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- BISHOP STOPFORD SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Miss Jill Silverthorne
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peterborough
- Constituency
- Kettering
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,383
- Pupils on roll
- 1,454
- URN
- 137086
- Local authority
- North Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01536503503
About this school
Bishop Stopford School is a Church of England secondary academy in Kettering. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,454 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. 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 213 | 217 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 60.7 | 64.1 | 58.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.88 +0.69 to +1.08 | +1.02 +0.83 to +1.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 71% | 75.1% | 66% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 84% | 91.7% | 84.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 89% | 89.9% | 86% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.8 | 6.1 | 5.5 |
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 Bishop Stopford 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 | North Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60.7 | 38.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 64.1 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.7 | 36.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,488 |
| 2023/24 | 1,453 |
| 2024/25 | 1,459 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bishop Stopford School compares
Bishop Stopford School ranked 1st of 19 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.7 | 4.7% | 7.3% | 1,454 | — |
| Southfield School for Girls | 46.8 | 9% | 19% | 1,111 | 0.4 miles |
| Kettering Science Academy | 37.3 | 11.2% | 29.9% | 1,477 | 1.1 miles |
| The Latimer Arts College | 44.8 | 8.8% | 19.8% | 1,219 | 1.5 miles |
| Montsaye Academy | — | — | — | 1,017 | 4.4 miles |
| Sir Christopher Hatton Academy | 50.2 | 8.1% | 19.4% | 1,440 | 5.5 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)
- 7.29%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.73%
- Persistent absence
- 8.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southfield School for Girls0.4 miles
Secondary · Kettering
-
Kettering Science Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Kettering
-
The Latimer Arts College1.5 miles
Secondary · Kettering
-
Montsaye Academy4.4 miles
Secondary · Kettering
-
Sir Christopher Hatton Academy5.5 miles
Secondary · Wellingborough
Other schools in Kettering
Bishop Stopford School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Kettering.
- Kettering Science Academy Secondary
- Montsaye Academy Secondary
- Southfield School for Girls Secondary
- The Latimer Arts College Secondary
- Ronald Tree Nursery School Nursery
- Barton Seagrave Primary School Primary
- Brambleside Primary School Primary
- Brigstock Latham's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broughton Primary School Primary
- Compass Primary Academy Primary
- Cranford CofE Primary School Primary
- Geddington Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bishop Stopford School teach?
- Bishop Stopford School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Kettering.
- Who is the headteacher of Bishop Stopford School?
- The headteacher of Bishop Stopford School is Miss Jill Silverthorne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bishop Stopford School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bishop Stopford 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 big is Bishop Stopford School?
- Bishop Stopford School has 1,454 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bishop Stopford School full?
- Bishop Stopford School has capacity for 1,383 pupils and 1,454 on roll (105%), 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 Bishop Stopford School a faith school?
- Yes. Bishop Stopford School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Peterborough.
- Is Bishop Stopford School a selective school?
- No. Bishop Stopford School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bishop Stopford School?
- Bishop Stopford School is part of BISHOP STOPFORD SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bishop Stopford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 60.7 in 2022/23 and 58.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bishop Stopford School rank locally?
- Bishop Stopford School ranked 1st of 19 secondary schools in North Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bishop Stopford School's absence rate?
- Bishop Stopford School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bishop Stopford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bishop Stopford 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 1 July 2026.