John Whitgift Academy, Grimsby
John Whitgift Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Grimsby, part of Delta Academies Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2020. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the highest of the 8 schools in Grimsby with published results, and 983rd of 3,298 across England. It was 86% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2020)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
- Progress (2024)
- Above average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to North East Lincolnshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
John Whitgift Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at John Whitgift Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 38.3 in North East Lincolnshire and 47 across England.
58% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 31% in North East Lincolnshire and 47% in England.
That is up from 48.1 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.22: pupils made above 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 47.3, against 51.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.3 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Art and Design.
Getting a place at John Whitgift Academy
For September 2026 entry, 261 families put John Whitgift Academy as their first choice and 356 named it as one of their preferences, for 230 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 31 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at John Whitgift Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to John Whitgift Academy are Healing Academy (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.1); Ormiston Maritime Academy (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 30.9); Special Educational Needs Support Service (Senss) (2.5 miles); and Oasis Academy Wintringham (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 35.6).
John Whitgift Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Healing AcademyOrmiston Maritime AcademySpecial Educational Needs Support Service (Senss)Oasis Academy Wintringham
The trust
John Whitgift Academy is one of 64 schools run by Delta Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.1 in 2024/25.
What parents say
62 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about John Whitgift Academy (as of September 2025): 84% would recommend the school, 86% say their child is happy there and 64% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (95%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (64%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 154 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 44% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
39.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 5.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 122 pupils (11.4%) received SEN support and 21 (2%) 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 moderate learning difficulty.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Great Coates Rail Station, about 530 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bowfield Close (opposite), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, John Whitgift Academy issued 225 suspensions, 21.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to John Whitgift Academy are Great Coates Primary School (0.1 miles), Wybers Wood Academy (0.4 miles), Willows Academy (0.4 miles) and Yarborough Academy (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Great Coates Primary SchoolWybers Wood AcademyWillows AcademyYarborough Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoThis judgement is from January 2020, 6 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's June 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
John Whitgift Academy creates an inclusive, caring environment where pupils are proud to learn. The school excels at supporting all learners, especially those with additional needs, through well-structured teaching and ambitious curriculum content. Pupils develop strong character through extensive leadership roles and enrichment opportunities while achieving impressive progress in examinations.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional pupil behaviour and conduct in lessons with strong positive relationships between pupils and staff
- Outstanding personal development with extensive leadership opportunities and enrichment activities
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND who progress very well through the curriculum
- Strengthened approach to reading that develops pupil enjoyment, particularly in key stage 3
- Strategic focus on high attendance and a happy, caring school culture valued by parents and staff
Areas for Improvement
- Curriculum does not always help pupils make connections between new and previous learning
- Some pupils struggle to apply their prior knowledge confidently to new topics
- School should further refine curriculum strategies to link and embed prior learning
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with leaders maintaining an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Duke of Edinburgh's Award, cooking, sports, debating, charity work, onsite cinema
John Whitgift Academy is an inclusive secondary school where pupils enjoy attending and achieve well through an ambitious curriculum. The school maintains outstanding behaviour and personal development alongside good quality education.
About
John Whitgift Academy is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. The academy is a part of Delta Academies Trust.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
39.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
62 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has remained stable at around 0.22 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 47.5 to 50.0 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 39% to 58% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 50.0 | 58.2% |
| Disadvantaged(66) | - | 47.3 | 47% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(104) | - | 51.6 | 65.4% |
| Boys(90) | - | 48.3 | 55.6% |
| Girls(80) | - | 51.8 | 61.3% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(8) | - | 57.1 | 62.5% |
| Non mobile(168) | - | 50.2 | 58.9% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 2 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 154 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.09%
Exclusion rate
225
Suspensions
21.33%
Suspension rate
100 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,055 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with John Whitgift Academy
Term dates
John Whitgift Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see North East Lincolnshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to John Whitgift Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. John Whitgift Academy is in North East Lincolnshire; for families living there:
- North East Lincolnshire's school travel policy: Home-to-School Transport Policy 2027 -2028
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 16
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 5
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 11 slight.
5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot.
6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in North East Lincolnshire is 19 (the median across 73 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at John Whitgift Academy
Will you get a place at John Whitgift Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against John Whitgift Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for John Whitgift Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to John Whitgift Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from North East Lincolnshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at John Whitgift Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in North East Lincolnshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
86%
Available places
1,034 pupils
1,200 places
166 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Grimsby
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Grimsby
Across North East Lincolnshire council
Places available
2,030
Applications
1,851
Got 1st preference
92.0%
Got preferred school
96.9%
All secondary applications across North East Lincolnshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
122
SEN Support
21
EHC Plans
13.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,070
Total Pupils
534
Boys
536
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
55
Teachers
19.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,166
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,461
Per pupil
£8575k
Total funding
£464k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.9%
Overall absence
16.4%
Persistent absence
1,078
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
John Whitgift Academy
Showing 10 of 11 linked schools
Questions parents ask about John Whitgift Academy
What are GCSE results like at John Whitgift Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at John Whitgift Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 50. 58% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is John Whitgift Academy's Ofsted rating?
John Whitgift Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2020, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for John Whitgift Academy?
No fixed boundary. When John Whitgift Academy is oversubscribed, North East Lincolnshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at John Whitgift Academy?
John Whitgift Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 86% of its 1200 places.
How big are the classes at John Whitgift Academy?
Classes at John Whitgift Academy average 24.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to John Whitgift Academy?
John Whitgift Academy has around 1070 pupils on roll. 39% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at John Whitgift Academy?
5.9% of sessions were missed at John Whitgift Academy in 2024/25. 16.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to John Whitgift Academy?
Apply through North East Lincolnshire's coordinated admissions process, naming John Whitgift Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near John Whitgift Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 11 slight. 5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot. 6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in North East Lincolnshire is 19 (the median across 73 schools, same distance and years).
Where is John Whitgift Academy?
John Whitgift Academy is at Crosland Road, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN37 9EH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)