Cowley Academy, Spalding

From the headteacher's welcome: "As the Headteacher at Cowley Academy, I feel immensely privileged to have been given the opportunity to take the school forward into a new, positive era. I am excited to lead the school community forward supported by the SLAT Chief Executive Officer and the South Lincolnshire Academies Trust Team."

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Cowley Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

31% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 36.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.12: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 39.5, against 46.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Business Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 128 families put Cowley Academy as their first choice and 338 named it as one of their preferences, for 116 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 25 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Cowley Academy is one of 4 schools run by South Lincolnshire Academies Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.6 in 2024/25.

70 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Cowley Academy (as of September 2025): 67% would recommend the school, 80% say their child is happy there and 58% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (89%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (57%).

Of the 127 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 72% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

36.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 79 pupils (12.7%) received SEN support and 39 (6.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Cowley Academy.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cowley Secondary School (outside), 60 metres away.

In 2024/25, Cowley Academy issued 97 suspensions, 15.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Cowley Academy are The Donington Cowley Endowed Primary School (0.3 miles) and Quadring Cowley & Brown's Primary School (1.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.