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The Deepings School, Peterborough

Requires Improvement
Secondary
Academy converter
Mixed
Ages 11–18

The Deepings School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Peterborough, part of Anthem Schools Trust. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2023. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 11th-highest of the 15 schools in Peterborough with published results, and 2,420th of 3,298 across England. It was 66% full in 2025.

GCSE results
Below England average
Ofsted
Requires improvement (2023)
Demand
Every first choice offered
Attendance
In line with England
Progress (2024)
Below average
New inspections, open days and news, by email.

Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days

Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Lincolnshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.

Data last updated 26 Oct 2026

The Deepings School in detail

The Deepings School in its own words

In its own words: "The students at our school are amazing. They were the driving force behind establishing our values of KINDNESS, RESPECT and AMBITION , recognising these fundamental values are pivotal to them thriving in their educational journey, whether during lessons or extra curricular activities. Our staff are equally as enthusiastic and ambitious for our students."

From the headteacher's welcome: "At The Deepings Sixth Form we are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive community that values kindness, respect, and ambition and provides a platform for academic and personal growth. Our Sixth Form is a beacon of opportunity, designed to empower students as they embark on the crucial journey from adolescence to adulthood."

Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)

Source: The school's own website

Results

In 2026, pupils at The Deepings School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

35% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 38.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.29: 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 33, against 43.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

Getting a place at The Deepings School

For September 2026 entry, 127 families put The Deepings School as their first choice and 241 named it as one of their preferences, for 156 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

Admissions history and your chances at The Deepings School

Compared with nearby schools

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Deepings School are Arthur Mellows Village College (2.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 44.6); Ken Stimpson Academy (3.9 miles, Attainment 8 39.4); Queen Katharine Academy (4.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 32.5); and Manor Drive Secondary Academy (5.4 miles).

The Deepings School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Arthur Mellows Village CollegeKen Stimpson AcademyQueen Katharine AcademyManor Drive Secondary Academy

The trust

The Deepings School is one of 15 schools run by Anthem Schools Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.4 in 2024/25.

All 15 schools in Anthem Schools Trust

What parents say

252 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Deepings School (as of September 2025): 45% would recommend the school, 64% say their child is happy there and 44% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (74%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (44%).

Where pupils go next

Of the 226 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 88% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 71% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

Of the 83 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 53% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 21% into work. 8% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

Who goes there

9.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 197 pupils (20.4%) received SEN support and 15 (1.6%) 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

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of The Deepings School.

14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Park Estate (opposite), 110 metres away.

The area around the school

In August 2026, police recorded 71 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences 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 Deepings School issued 157 suspensions, 15.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

Primary schools nearby

The primary schools closest to The Deepings School are Deeping St James Community Primary School (0.2 miles), Linchfield Academy (0.4 miles), Market Deeping Community Primary School (0.8 miles) and William Hildyard Church of England Primary and Nursery School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.

Deeping St James Community Primary SchoolLinchfield AcademyMarket Deeping Community Primary SchoolWilliam Hildyard Church of England Primary and Nursery School

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); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics

Location

Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Ms Kirstie Johnson
Pupils:967
LA:Lincolnshire
Phone:01778342159
Address:Park Road, Deeping St James, Peterborough, PE6 8NF
Trust:ANTHEM SCHOOLS TRUST (15 schools)
Admissions:Non-selective
Status:open
Opened:1 February 2012

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 2 years ago
-

Overall

Requires Improvement

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Good

Personal Development

Good

Leadership & Management

Good

Sixth Form

Inspected 11 February 2025View full report
URN:137873
UKPRN:10036444
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:South Holland and The Deepings
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.

What This School Does Well

The Deepings School has made real progress in improving behaviour and creating a welcoming, inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and develop positive relationships with staff. The sixth form is particularly strong, with excellent teaching and student outcomes. The school offers rich extra-curricular experiences in sport, music and drama, plus meaningful community involvement and leadership opportunities.

Key Strengths

  • Behaviour has improved significantly with pupils having positive attitudes to learning
  • Sixth-form provision is strong with students well-prepared for their next stages
  • Broad and ambitious curriculum with important knowledge and vocabulary clearly identified
  • Effective reading support systems to help pupils catch up quickly
  • Strong pastoral care and personal development, including careers guidance and work experience

Areas for Improvement

  • Teaching strategies are not applied consistently across the curriculum, leaving pupils' learning insecure
  • Staff do not adapt learning activities effectively to meet the specific needs of pupils with SEND
  • Too many pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of Year 11, despite curriculum improvements

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with school creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.

Extracurricular Activities

Sport clubs, music clubs, drama clubs, trips and visits, school council, learning council, community and charity projects, sixth-form mentoring and reading buddy schemes, work experience

The Deepings School has improved in recent times and has established an inclusive culture based on mutual respect. However, while the curriculum has been strengthened, it is not being delivered consistently well across the school, meaning too many pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of Year 11.

About

The Deepings School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located on Park Road in Deeping St James in Lincolnshire, England. As of April 2022, the school is attended by almost 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 18 taught by 90 teaching staff.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a Glance

28.1%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

Yes

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

252 responses
Would recommend45%
Child is happy64%
Child does well60%
High expectations55%
Feels safe74%
Well behaved56%
Bullying dealt with (of parents with a view)44%
Kept informed51%
Handles concerns (of parents who raised one)59%
Wider development46%

Source: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree

Secondary Performance (GCSE)

Academic year 2025/26

GCSE Results

2023
2024
2025
2026
Attainment 8 GCSE Eng+Maths

2025/26 academic year

Progress 8 has remained stable at around -0.29 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 39.0 to 41.5 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 27% to 35% (2023 to 2026).

Performance by Group

GroupProgress 8Attainment 8Eng+Maths 5+
All pupils-41.535.4%
Disadvantaged(41)-33.022%
Not known to be disadvantaged(157)-43.838.9%
Boys(107)-39.229%
Girls(91)-44.342.9%
Show more breakdowns (2)
Known or believed to be other than English(30)-42.240%
Non mobile(188)-42.236.7%

2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data

GCSE Subjects Offered

Mathematics396
English Language396
English Literature392
Combined Science358
History250
Geography146
Spanish128
Business Studies110
Health Studies104
Art and Design76
Sports Studies74
Design and Technology58
Statistics52
Food Preparation and Nutrition44
Biology36
Chemistry36
Physics36
Speech and Drama36
Physical Education26
Music24

+ 1 more subjects

2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils

After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations

After GCSEs (Year 11) - 226 students

Continued education88%
Further education71%
Apprenticeships4%
Employment3%
Not in education/employment4%

2023/24 data

Exclusions & Suspensions

1

Permanent exclusions

0.10%

Exclusion rate

157

Suspensions

15.08%

Suspension rate

53 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,041 pupils

2024/25 academic year

How Does This School Compare?

Ranked against 4 nearby secondary schools

See peer comparison with Pro - £9 a month, or £90 a year, inc. VAT

Keep up with The Deepings School

Term dates

The Deepings 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

Park Estate (opp)
110m · 2 min walk
Exeter Close (opp)
129m · 2 min walk
The Deepings School (adj)
136m · 2 min walk
Linchfield Close (adj)
180m · 3 min walk
Ermine Way (opp)
190m · 3 min walk

Free school transport

Check free transport to The Deepings School from your postcode →

You apply to the council where you live. The Deepings 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
15
Fatal
0
Serious
4
Children hurt
4

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 15 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 11 slight.

4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot.

5 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.

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Commute and house prices

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Your chances of a place at The Deepings School

Will you get a place at The Deepings School? Get the admissions report

Your home postcode, set against The Deepings School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.

What the report includes for The Deepings School:

  • The straight-line distance from your home to The Deepings 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 Deepings School for 2014 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.

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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

66%

Available places

1,037 pupils

1,580 places

543 spare places in 2025

2025, DfE school capacity data

Area Demand Pressure - Peterborough

Low pressure
New homes approved:6,622
Projected new pupils:1,192

Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Peterborough

Across Lincolnshire council

Low demand council-wide0.85 applications per place

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: Every first choice offered

Inspection History(6)

11 February 2025
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Sixth FormGood
13 September 2023
Requires ImprovementReport
Quality of EducationRequires Improvement
Behaviour & AttitudesRequires Improvement
Personal DevelopmentRequires Improvement
Leadership & ManagementRequires Improvement
Sixth FormGood
22 June 2021

SEND & SEN Provision

SEN Overview

197

SEN Support

15

EHC Plans

21.9%

of Total Pupils

2026 academic year

Provision & Specialist Facilities

No specialist provision recorded

Pupils by Need Type

Moderate Learning Difficulty53
Social, Emotional & Mental Health49
Specific Learning Difficulty45
Autistic Spectrum Disorder34
Speech, Language & Communication10
Other4
Visual Impairment3
Hearing Impairment2
Multi-Sensory Impairment2
Physical Disability2
EHC Plan
SEN Support

Pupil Demographics

Ethnicity

White British
78.8%
Asian
1.9%
Black
2.0%
Mixed
4.8%
Chinese
0.2%
Other
0.3%
Unclassified
4.4%

2026 academic year

Key Indicators

Free School Meals28.1%
English as Additional Language9.8%

967

Total Pupils

503

Boys

464

Girls

2026 academic year

Workforce

52

Teachers

18.6:1

Pupil-teacher ratio

£57,148

Mean salary

2026 data

School Funding

£6,904

Per pupil

£7458k

Total funding

£293k

Pupil premium

Deprivation£610,130
EAL funding£38,432
Lump sum£145,100

2025-26 financial year allocations

Pupil Absence
2024/25

9.1%

Overall absence

26.7%

Persistent absence

1,072

Enrolments

Authorised3.9%
Unauthorised5.3%
Persistent (10%+)26.7%
Severe (50%+)5.7%

Absence trend

5.8%
18/19
6.3%
20/21
8.9%
21/22
10.2%
22/23
10.2%
23/24
9.1%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

Questions parents ask about The Deepings School

What are GCSE results like at The Deepings School?

In the 2026 results, pupils at The Deepings School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 41.5. 35% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.

What is The Deepings School's Ofsted rating?

The Deepings School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2023, it was rated Requires Improvement.

What is the catchment area for The Deepings School?

No fixed boundary. When The Deepings 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 Deepings School?

The Deepings School was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 1580 places.

How big are the classes at The Deepings School?

Classes at The Deepings School average 24.7 pupils (2025/26).

How many pupils go to The Deepings School?

The Deepings School has around 967 pupils on roll. 28% are eligible for free school meals.

What is attendance like at The Deepings School?

9.1% of sessions were missed at The Deepings School in 2024/25. 26.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).

How do I apply to The Deepings School?

Apply through Lincolnshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Deepings 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 Deepings School?

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 15 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 11 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot. 5 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 Deepings School?

The Deepings School is at Park Road, Deeping St James, Peterborough, Lincolnshire, PE6 8NF.

Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)

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