Horncastle Primary School
Bowl Alley Lane, Horncastle, LN9 5EH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Cook
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Wellspring Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Louth and Horncastle
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 417
- URN
- 148713
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01507522662
About this school
Horncastle Primary School is a primary academy in Horncastle. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 417 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Horncastle Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 73 | 54 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 59% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 6% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 74% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 58% | 59% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.70 | - | - |
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 Horncastle Primary 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 | 53% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 56.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 450 |
| 2023/24 | 434 |
| 2024/25 | 430 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Horncastle Primary School compares
Horncastle Primary School ranked 142nd of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 4% | 39.9% | 417 | — |
| The Kirkby-on-Bain Church of England Primary School | 67% | 5% | 26.5% | 118 | 4.8 miles |
| The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford | 90% | 4.4% | 15.9% | 98 | 5.3 miles |
| The Mareham-le-Fen Church of England Primary School | 67% | 3.7% | 30% | 78 | 5.5 miles |
| Scamblesby Church of England Primary School | 50% | 5% | 34.6% | 46 | 5.6 miles |
| Bucknall Primary School | — | 5.7% | 44.1% | 38 | 5.7 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)
- 39.85%
- English as an additional language
- 2.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.95%
- Persistent absence
- 7.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Kirkby-on-Bain Church of England Primary School4.8 miles
Primary · Woodhall Spa
-
The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford5.3 miles
Primary · Horncastle
-
The Mareham-le-Fen Church of England Primary School5.5 miles
Primary · Boston
-
Scamblesby Church of England Primary School5.6 miles
Primary · Louth
-
Bucknall Primary School5.7 miles
Primary · Bardney
Other schools in Horncastle
- The Edward Richardson Primary School, Tetford Primary
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Secondary
- The Banovallum School Secondary
- St Lawrence School Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Horncastle Primary School teach?
- Horncastle Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Horncastle.
- Who is the headteacher of Horncastle Primary School?
- The headteacher of Horncastle Primary School is Mr Andrew Cook, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Horncastle Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Horncastle Primary 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 Horncastle Primary School?
- Horncastle Primary School has 417 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Horncastle Primary School full?
- Horncastle Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 417 on roll (66%), 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 Horncastle Primary School a faith school?
- No. Horncastle Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Horncastle Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Horncastle Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Horncastle Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Horncastle Primary School is part of WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Horncastle Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 57% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Horncastle Primary School compare with other schools in Lincolnshire?
- Horncastle Primary School ranked 142nd of 246 primary schools in Lincolnshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Horncastle Primary School's absence rate?
- Horncastle Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Horncastle Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Horncastle Primary 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 10 July 2026.