Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle
West Street, Horncastle, LN9 5AD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HORNCASTLE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Furness
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Louth and Horncastle
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 920
- Pupils on roll
- 788
- URN
- 138665
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01507522465
About this school
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is a secondary academy in Horncastle. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 788 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 | 122 | 124 | 123 |
| Attainment 8 score | 66.6 | 62.1 | 66.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.49 +0.22 to +0.75 | +0.28 +0.03 to +0.54 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 90% | 81.5% | 89.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 98% | 96.8% | 98.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 79% | 83.9% | 89.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.3 | 6.0 | 6.4 |
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 Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle 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 | 66.6 | 42.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 62.1 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 66.2 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 842 |
| 2023/24 | 817 |
| 2024/25 | 788 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle compares
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle ranked 5th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66.2 | 5.5% | 9.1% | 788 | — |
| The Banovallum School | 41.9 | 11% | 33.4% | 621 | 0.7 miles |
| The Barnes Wallis Academy | 39.1 | 9.7% | 42.2% | 483 | 7.6 miles |
| King Edward VI Academy | 39.3 | 8.1% | 47.1% | 357 | 9.2 miles |
| William Lovell Church of England Academy | 29.4 | 14.5% | 51.4% | 347 | 9.7 miles |
| Horncastle Primary School | — | 4% | 39.9% | 417 | 0.5 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)
- 9.12%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.54%
- Persistent absence
- 13.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Banovallum School0.7 miles
Secondary · Horncastle
-
The Barnes Wallis Academy7.6 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
King Edward VI Academy9.2 miles
Secondary · Spilsby
-
William Lovell Church of England Academy9.7 miles
Secondary · Boston
-
Horncastle Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Horncastle
Other schools in Horncastle
- The Banovallum School Secondary
- Horncastle Primary School Primary
- The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford Primary
- St Lawrence School Academies
Common questions
- What year groups does Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle teach?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Horncastle.
- Who is the headteacher of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?
- The headteacher of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is Mr Simon Furness, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle, 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 Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle has 788 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle full?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle has capacity for 920 pupils and 788 on roll (86%), 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 Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle a faith school?
- No. Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle has no designated religious character.
- Is Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle a selective school?
- Yes. Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is part of HORNCASTLE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 66.6 in 2022/23 and 66.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle rank locally?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle ranked 5th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 96% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle's absence rate?
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle'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.