King's Lynn Academy, King's Lynn

Ofsted's report card from its 2 June 2026 inspection grades King's Lynn Academy on 6 areas: 5 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend regularly."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have developed an ambitious and broad curriculum."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders have a rich understanding of the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders have taken decisive actions to improve many aspects of the school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The school has designed an extensive personal development offer."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Published outcomes show that over time, pupils have not achieved as well as they should."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers have the expertise to strengthen pupils' knowledge of reading, writing and communication, in order to support them to achieve more highly"; "Leaders should ensure that they continue to improve the provision for disadvantaged pupils and use the pupil premium grant with more precision to help these pupils achieve well"; "Leaders should ensure that staff have the knowledge to accurately check what pupils have understood and use this to provide necessary support or move pupils on when they are ready"; "Leaders should ensure that their quality assurance checks provide precise and detailed information that can be used to secure rapid and sustainable improvement".

In its own words: "There is a clear and embedded safeguarding ethos at KLA; staff and students know how, when and where to seek advice and support for any concerns they may have about themselves or somebody else."

In 2026, pupils at King's Lynn Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45 in Norfolk and 47 across England.

37% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Norfolk and 47% in England.

That is up from 39.1 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.64: pupils made well 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 33, against 44.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.3 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 191 families put King's Lynn Academy as their first choice and 413 named it as one of their preferences, for 193 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 9 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to King's Lynn Academy are King Edward VII Academy (0.3 miles, Attainment 8 41.1); Springwood High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.2); and Visiting Teacher Service West (0.9 miles).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than King's Lynn Academy.

King's Lynn Academy is one of 12 schools run by Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 198 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 57% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

In 2026, 169 pupils (17.4%) received SEN support and 66 (6.8%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

King's Lynn Academy provides for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Kings Lynn Rail Station, about 930 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is King's Lynn Academy (inside), 130 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 380 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Norfolk (28), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, King's Lynn Academy issued 148 suspensions, 15.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to King's Lynn Academy are Parkway Academy (0.3 miles), King's Oak Academy (0.3 miles), Highgate Infant School (0.5 miles) and Eastgate Academy (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.