The Vale Academy
Atherton Way, Brigg, DN20 8AR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Dr Sarah Stokes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Delta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Brigg and Immingham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 806
- Pupils on roll
- 627
- URN
- 137453
- Local authority
- North Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01652294511
About this school
The Vale Academy is a secondary academy in Brigg. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 627 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 19 April 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 105 | 150 | 141 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.0 | 51.1 | 51.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.32 +0.05 to +0.59 | +0.45 +0.23 to +0.68 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 65.3% | 64.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 83.3% | 76.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 49.3% | 55.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
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 Vale 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 | North Lincolnshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49 | 37.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.1 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.6 | 35.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 726 |
| 2023/24 | 742 |
| 2024/25 | 680 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Vale Academy compares
The Vale Academy ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in North Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.6 | 7.3% | 26.5% | 627 | — |
| Sir John Nelthorpe School | 46 | 8.1% | 21.7% | 878 | 0.4 miles |
| Frederick Gough School | 42.2 | 9.5% | 28.8% | 1,334 | 6.1 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Voluntary Academy | 47.8 | 6.9% | 29.6% | 694 | 6.3 miles |
| Outwood Academy Brumby | 43 | 8.1% | 44.9% | 697 | 6.4 miles |
| Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire | 38.2 | 7.9% | 33.6% | 318 | 6.5 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)
- 26.54%
- English as an additional language
- 5.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.25%
- Persistent absence
- 20.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sir John Nelthorpe School0.4 miles
Secondary · Brigg
-
Frederick Gough School6.1 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
-
St Bede's Catholic Voluntary Academy6.3 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
-
Outwood Academy Brumby6.4 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
-
Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire6.5 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
Other schools in Brigg
- Sir John Nelthorpe School Secondary
- Brigg Primary School Primary
- Broughton Primary Academy Primary
- Hibaldstow Academy Primary
- Scawby Academy Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy (Brigg) Primary
- Worlaby Academy Primary
- Wrawby St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Hestia School Special schools
- Robert Holme Academy Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Vale Academy teach?
- The Vale Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Brigg.
- Who is the principal of The Vale Academy?
- The principal of The Vale Academy is Dr Sarah Stokes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Vale Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Vale 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 Vale Academy?
- The Vale Academy has 627 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Vale Academy full?
- The Vale Academy has capacity for 806 pupils and 627 on roll (78%), 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 The Vale Academy a faith school?
- No. The Vale Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Vale Academy a selective school?
- No. The Vale Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Vale Academy?
- The Vale Academy is part of DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49 in 2022/23 and 51.6 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 Vale Academy rank locally?
- The Vale Academy ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in North Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% 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 Vale Academy's absence rate?
- The Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Vale 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.