Spalding High School, Spalding

From the headteacher's welcome: "The sense of community is strong at the High School; you will notice that the School has a special "feel" as soon as you walk through the door. We are a forward-thinking and progressive school with an outward-looking curriculum and a rich and diverse extracurricular programme."

Coming up: an open evening on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Spalding High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 62.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

86% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 63.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.63: pupils made well 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 60.8, against 62.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Geography and Combined Science.

Spalding High School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 202 families put Spalding High School as their first choice and 300 named it as one of their preferences, for 149 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 60 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Spalding High School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Spalding High School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Lincolnshire's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Lincolnshire has 15 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Spalding High School are Spalding Academy (0.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.1); and Spalding Grammar School (0.5 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 59.9).

Spalding High School's 2026 results were higher than all 2 of them.

Of the 148 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 97% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 18% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 97 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 75% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 11% into work. 22% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

12.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 120 pupils (12.4%) received SEN support and 7 (0.7%) 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.

The nearest railway station is Spalding Rail Station, about 1150 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is High School (adjacent), 110 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 199 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lincolnshire (33), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Spalding High School issued 22 suspensions, 2.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Spalding High School are Spalding Parish Church of England Day School (0.2 miles); St Paul's Community Primary and Nursery School, Spalding (0.8 miles); St Norbert's Catholic Voluntary Academy (0.9 miles); and The Spalding St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.