Abbeyfield School
Mereway, Northampton, NN4 8BU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Richard Shaw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Creative Education Trust
- Constituency
- Northampton South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,296
- URN
- 138858
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604763616
About this school
Abbeyfield School is a secondary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,296 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Abbeyfield School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 233 | 253 | 268 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.1 | 43.7 | 44.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.29 -0.47 to -0.10 | +0.03 -0.15 to +0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 44.3% | 42.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 64.4% | 61.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 45.8% | 71.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
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 Abbeyfield 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.1 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.7 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44 | 35.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,347 |
| 2023/24 | 1,376 |
| 2024/25 | 1,358 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Abbeyfield School compares
Abbeyfield School ranked 14th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44 | 8.9% | 26% | 1,296 | — |
| Northampton School for Boys | 58.2 | 4.4% | 10.6% | 1,756 | 2.2 miles |
| Malcolm Arnold Academy | 41.4 | 9.3% | 25.2% | 1,278 | 2.7 miles |
| Northampton School for Girls | 54.9 | 6.4% | 16.6% | 1,670 | 3.7 miles |
| Weston Favell Academy | 41.8 | 10.1% | 38.1% | 1,431 | 3.8 miles |
| Kingsthorpe College | 39.6 | 9.7% | 23% | 1,415 | 3.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.03%
- English as an additional language
- 29.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.88%
- Persistent absence
- 22.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Northampton School for Boys2.2 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Malcolm Arnold Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School for Girls3.7 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Weston Favell Academy3.8 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Kingsthorpe College3.9 miles
Secondary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
Abbeyfield School ranks 10th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Northampton.
- Campion School Secondary
- Guilsborough Academy Secondary
- Kingsthorpe College Secondary
- Malcolm Arnold Academy Secondary
- Moulton School and Science College Secondary
- Northampton Academy Secondary
- Northampton School Secondary
- Northampton School for Boys Secondary
- Northampton School for Girls Secondary
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School Secondary
- Weston Favell Academy Secondary
- Camrose Early Years Centre for Children & Families Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Abbeyfield School teach?
- Abbeyfield School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Northampton.
- Who is the principal of Abbeyfield School?
- The principal of Abbeyfield School is Mr Richard Shaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Abbeyfield School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Abbeyfield 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 many pupils are at Abbeyfield School?
- Abbeyfield School has 1,296 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Abbeyfield School full?
- Abbeyfield School has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,296 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Abbeyfield School a faith school?
- No. Abbeyfield School has no designated religious character.
- Is Abbeyfield School a selective school?
- No. Abbeyfield School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Abbeyfield School part of an academy trust?
- Abbeyfield School is part of CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Abbeyfield School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.1 in 2022/23 and 44 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Abbeyfield School compare with other schools in West Northamptonshire?
- Abbeyfield School ranked 14th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Abbeyfield School's absence rate?
- Abbeyfield School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Abbeyfield School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Abbeyfield 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.