The Banovallum School, Horncastle
The Banovallum School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Horncastle, part of Horncastle Education Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in December 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 47th-highest of the 54 schools in Lincolnshire with published results, and 3,095th of 3,298 across England. It was 97% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Lincolnshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Banovallum School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Banovallum School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 35.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.
20% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.
That is down from 41.9 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.04: pupils made about 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 28.3, against 39.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.
Getting a place at The Banovallum School
For September 2026 entry, 121 families put The Banovallum School as their first choice and 251 named it as one of their preferences, for 118 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 14 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at The Banovallum School
The trust
The Banovallum School is one of 6 schools run by Horncastle Education Trust, an academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 130 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 64% to a further education college, 8% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 101 pupils (16.3%) received SEN support and 53 (8.5%) 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.
Staffing
The Banovallum School had 50 teachers in 2026, one for every 12 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of The Banovallum School.
15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Banovallum School Bus Park (in), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Banovallum School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 54 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.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Banovallum School issued 99 suspensions, 16.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from December 2017, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its December 2017 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
About
The Banovallum School is a co-educational secondary school located in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
33.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has remained stable at around 0.04 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 41.9 to 35.2 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 31% to 20% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 35.2 | 19.7% |
| Disadvantaged(47) | - | 28.3 | 10.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(80) | - | 39.3 | 25% |
| Boys(69) | - | 36.6 | 24.6% |
| Girls(58) | - | 33.6 | 13.8% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(111) | - | 36.8 | 21.6% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 130 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.16%
Exclusion rate
99
Suspensions
16.28%
Suspension rate
39 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 608 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 1 nearby secondary school
Keep up with The Banovallum School
Term dates
The Banovallum School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Lincolnshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Banovallum School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Banovallum School is in Lincolnshire; for families living there:
Apply to Lincolnshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 4 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
1 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 Lincolnshire is 6 (the median across 401 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 The Banovallum School
Will you get a place at The Banovallum School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Banovallum School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Banovallum School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Banovallum School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Lincolnshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Banovallum School for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in 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.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
97%
Near capacity
608 pupils
625 places
17 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Horncastle
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Horncastle
Across Lincolnshire council
Places available
9,247
Applications
7,828
Got 1st preference
84.7%
Got preferred school
96.4%
All secondary applications across Lincolnshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
101
SEN Support
53
EHC Plans
24.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
621
Total Pupils
307
Boys
314
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
50
Teachers
12.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,715
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,218
Per pupil
£4677k
Total funding
£207k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.0%
Overall absence
28.3%
Persistent absence
628
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
The Banovallum School
Questions parents ask about The Banovallum School
What are GCSE results like at The Banovallum School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Banovallum School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 35.2. 20% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Banovallum School's Ofsted rating?
The Banovallum School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in December 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Banovallum School?
No fixed boundary. When The Banovallum School is oversubscribed, Lincolnshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Banovallum School?
The Banovallum School was close to full in 2025, at 97% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at The Banovallum School?
Classes at The Banovallum School average 23.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Banovallum School?
The Banovallum School has around 621 pupils on roll. 33% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Banovallum School?
11% of sessions were missed at The Banovallum School in 2024/25. 28.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Banovallum School?
Apply through Lincolnshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Banovallum School 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 The Banovallum School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 4 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 1 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 Lincolnshire is 6 (the median across 401 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Banovallum School?
The Banovallum School is at Boston Road, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, LN9 6DA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)