Kirton Academy
Redbourne Mere, Gainsborough, DN21 4NN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LINCOLNSHIRE GATEWAY ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Ricketts
- Sponsor
- Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Scunthorpe
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 870
- Pupils on roll
- 406
- URN
- 150867
- Local authority
- North Lincolnshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01652648276
About this school
Kirton Academy is a secondary academy in Gainsborough. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 406 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Inadequate
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: serious weaknesses.
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Huntcliff School (URN 137832).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 64 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.7 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 18.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 |
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 Kirton 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
How Kirton Academy compares
Kirton Academy ranked 14th of 14 secondary schools in North Lincolnshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% 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 | 36.7 | 11.3% | 47% | 406 | — |
| Frederick Gough School | 42.2 | 9.5% | 28.8% | 1,334 | 6.2 miles |
| Sir John Nelthorpe School | 46 | 8.1% | 21.7% | 878 | 6.5 miles |
| The Vale Academy | 51.6 | 7.3% | 26.5% | 627 | 6.7 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Voluntary Academy | 47.8 | 6.9% | 29.6% | 694 | 6.8 miles |
| Melior Community Academy | 43.1 | 11.1% | 45.9% | 747 | 7.3 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)
- 46.95%
- English as an additional language
- 3%
- Overall absence
- 11.26%
- Persistent absence
- 31.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Frederick Gough School6.2 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
-
Sir John Nelthorpe School6.5 miles
Secondary · Brigg
-
The Vale Academy6.7 miles
Secondary · Brigg
-
St Bede's Catholic Voluntary Academy6.8 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
-
Melior Community Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Scunthorpe
Other schools in Gainsborough
- The Gainsborough Academy Secondary
- The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough Secondary
- The Gainsborough Nursery School Nursery
- Benjamin Adlard Primary School Primary
- Blyton Cum Laughton Church of England School Primary
- Castle Wood Academy Primary
- Corringham CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Frances Olive Anderson Church of England (Aided) Primary School Primary
- Hemswell Cliff Primary School Primary
- Kirton Lindsey Primary Academy Primary
- Mercer's Wood Academy Primary
- Morton Trentside Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Kirton Academy teach?
- Kirton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Gainsborough.
- Who is the headteacher of Kirton Academy?
- The headteacher of Kirton Academy is Mrs Emma Ricketts, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kirton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kirton 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 Kirton Academy?
- Kirton Academy has 406 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Kirton Academy full?
- Kirton Academy has capacity for 870 pupils and 406 on roll (47%), 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 Kirton Academy a faith school?
- No. Kirton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Kirton Academy?
- Kirton Academy is part of LINCOLNSHIRE GATEWAY ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How does Kirton Academy rank locally?
- Kirton Academy ranked 14th of 14 secondary schools in North Lincolnshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% 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 Kirton Academy's absence rate?
- Kirton Academy's overall absence rate is 11.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kirton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kirton 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 10 July 2026.