The Lacon Childe School, Kidderminster
The Lacon Childe School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Kidderminster, part of Four Stones Gateway Trust. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2024. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 3rd-highest of the 5 schools in Kidderminster with published results, and 2,420th of 3,298 across England. It was 99% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Shropshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Lacon Childe School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Lacon Childe School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.7 in Shropshire and 47 across England.
34% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 35% in Shropshire and 47% in England.
That is down from 45.8 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.28: 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 31.9, against 44.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.9 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.
Getting a place at The Lacon Childe School
For September 2026 entry, 95 families put The Lacon Childe School as their first choice and 146 named it as one of their preferences, for 99 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 Lacon Childe School
The trust
The Lacon Childe School is one of 7 schools run by Four Stones Gateway Trust, an academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 103 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 70% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.
Who goes there
0.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The Lacon Childe School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties: 20 places, 16 pupils on roll.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of The Lacon Childe School.
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Lacon Childe School (adjacent), 70 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Lacon Childe School issued 70 suspensions, 13 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; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); 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 GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils get many opportunities at Lacon Childe school. They take part in clubs and activities. Most pupils participate in the popular house competition. Personal development for pupils is planned well. Teachers encourage pupils to get involved in a range of activities. This helps to ensure they are ready for life after school. Pupils feel safe and they value the care they receive from their teachers. Bullying is rare. When it happens, teachers deal with it well.
There have been significant changes in leadership and teaching. Expectations of behaviour have not been consistent. A minority of pupils have disrupted the learning of others. Not all teachers successfully manage behaviour in lessons. This means some lessons do not run smoothly. Many pupils are frustrated by this. New leaders have made changes that have begun to improve behaviour. Too many pupils are absent from school. This means they miss out on vital learning and opportunities.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has designed an ambitious curriculum. There is a broad range of subjects. Subject leaders have devised clear plans which explain what pupils need to learn. Teachers have good subject knowledge. However, teachers do not always check that all pupils have understood what they have learned. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This is particularly true for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have identified improving this as a priority.
The school is committed to ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully involved in school life. Teaching assistants provide good one-to-one support for pupils in many lessons. Teachers are given individual guidance on how they can specifically help each pupil. However, not all teachers follow these plans consistently. This means that some pupils with SEND do not progress as well as they should.
From Ofsted's June 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Requires Improvement at its June 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Personal development.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Behaviour & attitudes (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Requires Improvement).
About
Lacon Childe School is a mixed secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds, located in Cleobury Mortimer in the English county of Shropshire.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
24.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Speech and language, Autism, MLD
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.12 to -0.28 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 45.5 to 41.5 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 34% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 41.5 | 33.6% |
| Disadvantaged(27) | - | 31.9 | 14.8% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(80) | - | 44.8 | 40% |
| Boys(67) | - | 41.2 | 29.9% |
| Girls(40) | - | 42.0 | 40% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(100) | - | 42.9 | 36% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 1 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 103 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.19%
Exclusion rate
70
Suspensions
13.01%
Suspension rate
30 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 538 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Keep up with The Lacon Childe School
Term dates
The Lacon Childe School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Shropshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Lacon Childe School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Lacon Childe School is in Shropshire; for families living there:
Apply to Shropshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 4 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
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 Shropshire is 1 (the median across 187 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 Lacon Childe School
Will you get a place at The Lacon Childe School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Lacon Childe School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Lacon Childe School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Lacon Childe School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Shropshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Lacon Childe School for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Shropshire 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
99%
Near capacity
533 pupils
540 places
7 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Kidderminster
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Kidderminster
Across Shropshire council
Places available
3,213
Applications
2,845
Got 1st preference
91.0%
Got preferred school
98.7%
All secondary applications across Shropshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(4)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good, but Ofsted raised concerns; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
62
SEN Support
30
EHC Plans
16.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
The Lacon Childe School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties: 20 places, 16 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
563
Total Pupils
298
Boys
265
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
34
Teachers
16.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£58,563
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,838
Per pupil
£4003k
Total funding
£121k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.5%
Overall absence
25.4%
Persistent absence
562
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 Lacon Childe School
Questions parents ask about The Lacon Childe School
What are GCSE results like at The Lacon Childe School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Lacon Childe School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 41.5. 34% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Lacon Childe School's Ofsted rating?
The Lacon Childe School was rated Requires Improvement at its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2012 it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Lacon Childe School?
No fixed boundary. When The Lacon Childe School is oversubscribed, Shropshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Lacon Childe School?
The Lacon Childe School was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at The Lacon Childe School?
Classes at The Lacon Childe School average 22.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Lacon Childe School?
The Lacon Childe School has around 563 pupils on roll. 24% are eligible for free school meals.
Does The Lacon Childe School have specialist SEN provision?
The Lacon Childe School has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties: 20 places, 16 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at The Lacon Childe School?
7.5% of sessions were missed at The Lacon Childe School in 2024/25. 25.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Lacon Childe School?
Apply through Shropshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Lacon Childe 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 Lacon Childe School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 4 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 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 Shropshire is 1 (the median across 187 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Lacon Childe School?
The Lacon Childe School is at Love Lane, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY14 8PE.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)