The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy
Heapham Road, Gainsborough, DN21 1SW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 0 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HILLCREST EARLY YEARS ACADEMY LIMITED
- Principal
- Miss Samantha Stokes
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Gainsborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 180
- Pupils on roll
- 231
- URN
- 138330
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01427613483
About this school
The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy is a primary academy in Gainsborough. It teaches children aged 0 to 7 and has 231 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 251 |
| 2023/24 | 237 |
| 2024/25 | 221 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy compares
Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 7% | 53.4% | 231 | — |
| White's Wood Academy | 30% | 5.8% | 64.5% | 195 | 0.1 miles |
| The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School | 57% | 5.8% | 54.2% | 189 | 0.1 miles |
| St George's Church of England Community Primary School, Gainsborough | 40% | 7.6% | 75% | 189 | 0.6 miles |
| Benjamin Adlard Primary School | 52% | 5.6% | 72.5% | 234 | 0.7 miles |
| The Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School | 49% | 6.5% | 50% | 255 | 0.8 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)
- 53.42%
- English as an additional language
- 7.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.99%
- Persistent absence
- 22.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
White's Wood Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Gainsborough
-
The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Gainsborough
-
St George's Church of England Community Primary School, Gainsborough0.6 miles
Primary · Gainsborough
-
Benjamin Adlard Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Gainsborough
-
The Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Gainsborough
Other schools in Gainsborough
- Benjamin Adlard Primary School Primary
- Blyton Cum Laughton Church of England School Primary
- Castle Wood Academy Primary
- Corringham CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Frances Olive Anderson Church of England (Aided) Primary School Primary
- Hemswell Cliff Primary School Primary
- Kirton Lindsey Primary Academy Primary
- Mercer's Wood Academy Primary
- Morton Trentside Primary School Primary
- Scotter Primary School Primary
- St George's Church of England Community Primary School, Gainsborough Primary
- The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy teach?
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy teaches children aged 0 to 7. It is a primary school in Gainsborough.
- Who is the principal of The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy?
- The principal of The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy is Miss Samantha Stokes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years 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 Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy?
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy has 231 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 0 to 7.
- Is The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy full?
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy has capacity for 180 pupils and 231 on roll (128%), 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 Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy a faith school?
- No. The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy?
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy is part of HILLCREST EARLY YEARS ACADEMY LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What is The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy's absence rate?
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- Does The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.