Castle Academy
St George's Street, Northampton, NN1 2TR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EAST MIDLANDS ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Daniel Lugg
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT)
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Northampton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 455
- URN
- 140362
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604346802
About this school
Castle Academy is a primary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 455 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 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 56 | 58 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 69% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 76% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 78% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 76% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Castle 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 57.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 60.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 60.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 449 |
| 2023/24 | 464 |
| 2024/25 | 451 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Castle Academy compares
Castle Academy ranked 52nd of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 4.5% | 19.9% | 455 | — |
| Spring Lane Primary School | 62% | 6.9% | 30.9% | 434 | 0.3 miles |
| Earl Spencer Primary School | 56% | 6.3% | 27.9% | 352 | 0.7 miles |
| St James Church of England Primary School | 69% | 5.1% | 24.6% | 445 | 0.7 miles |
| Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School | 75% | 4.6% | 14.5% | 401 | 0.8 miles |
| Vernon Terrace Primary School | 59% | 5.5% | 16.2% | 233 | 0.9 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)
- 19.9%
- English as an additional language
- 69%
- Overall absence
- 4.52%
- Persistent absence
- 10.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Spring Lane Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Earl Spencer Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
St James Church of England Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School0.8 miles
Primary · Northampton
-
Vernon Terrace Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
Castle Academy ranks 40th of the 99 ranked primary schools in Northampton.
- Abington Vale Primary School Primary
- All Saints CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Ashton CofE Primary School Primary
- Barry Primary School Primary
- Blackthorn Primary School Primary
- Blisworth Community Primary School Primary
- Boothville Primary School Primary
- Boughton Primary School Primary
- Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Bridgewater Primary School Primary
- Brington Primary School Primary
- Brixworth CofE VC Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Castle Academy teach?
- Castle Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Northampton.
- Who is the principal of Castle Academy?
- The principal of Castle Academy is Mr Daniel Lugg, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Castle Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Castle 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 Castle Academy?
- Castle Academy has 455 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Castle Academy full?
- Castle Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 455 on roll (108%), 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 Castle Academy a faith school?
- No. Castle Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Castle Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Castle Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Castle Academy?
- Castle Academy is part of EAST MIDLANDS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Castle Academy have?
- The schools register lists Castle Academy's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Castle Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Castle Academy rank locally?
- Castle Academy ranked 52nd of 140 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Castle Academy's absence rate?
- Castle Academy's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Castle Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castle 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 15 July 2026.