The Banovallum School
Boston Road, Horncastle, LN9 6DA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HORNCASTLE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jennifer Kirkwood
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Louth and Horncastle
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 625
- Pupils on roll
- 621
- URN
- 141581
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01507522232
About this school
The Banovallum School is a secondary academy in Horncastle. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 621 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 3 March 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 | 130 | 108 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.9 | 41.9 | 41.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.04 -0.32 to +0.24 | +0.04 -0.21 to +0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 36.9% | 28.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 65.4% | 62% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 10% | 6.2% | 18.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 The Banovallum 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 | Lincolnshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.9 | 42.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.9 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.9 | 39.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 608 |
| 2023/24 | 616 |
| 2024/25 | 608 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Banovallum School compares
The Banovallum School ranked 26th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.9 | 11% | 33.4% | 621 | — |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle | 66.2 | 5.5% | 9.1% | 788 | 0.7 miles |
| The Barnes Wallis Academy | 39.1 | 9.7% | 42.2% | 483 | 7.3 miles |
| King Edward VI Academy | 39.3 | 8.1% | 47.1% | 357 | 8.6 miles |
| William Lovell Church of England Academy | 29.4 | 14.5% | 51.4% | 347 | 9.0 miles |
| St Lawrence School | — | 14.6% | 61.1% | 179 | 0.6 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)
- 33.39%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 11.04%
- Persistent absence
- 28.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle0.7 miles
Secondary · Horncastle
-
The Barnes Wallis Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Lincoln
-
King Edward VI Academy8.6 miles
Secondary · Spilsby
-
William Lovell Church of England Academy9.0 miles
Secondary · Boston
-
St Lawrence School0.6 miles
Academies · Horncastle
Other schools in Horncastle
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Secondary
- Horncastle Primary School Primary
- The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford Primary
- St Lawrence School Academies
Common questions
- What year groups does The Banovallum School teach?
- The Banovallum School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Horncastle.
- Who is the headteacher of The Banovallum School?
- The headteacher of The Banovallum School is Mrs Jennifer Kirkwood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Banovallum School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Banovallum 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 big is The Banovallum School?
- The Banovallum School has 621 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Banovallum School full?
- The Banovallum School has capacity for 625 pupils and 621 on roll (99%), 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 The Banovallum School a faith school?
- No. The Banovallum School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Banovallum School a selective school?
- No. The Banovallum School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Banovallum School?
- The Banovallum School 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 The Banovallum School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.9 in 2022/23 and 41.9 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 Banovallum School rank locally?
- The Banovallum School ranked 26th of 54 secondary schools in Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% 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 Banovallum School's absence rate?
- The Banovallum School's overall absence rate is 11% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Banovallum School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Banovallum 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.