The Priory City of Lincoln Academy, Lincoln

Ofsted's report card from its 9 December 2025 inspection grades The Priory City of Lincoln Academy on 7 areas: 2 expected standard and 5 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have thoughtfully designed the personal development programme."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality and suitability of the sixth‑form courses."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are beginning to make stronger progress, but achievement across several subjects is not yet as secure as it could be."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Leaders recognise that some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not attend often enough."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "The quality of teaching is too variable."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "The school has recently introduced a clearer framework for staff to identify emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "The leadership team has changed significantly since the previous inspection."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to ensure that teachers' checks on pupils' learning are used to inform future learning and that teaching allows pupils enough practice to deepen their understanding before moving on, so that pupils achieve well across subjects"; "Leaders should make sure that pupils develop important writing skills and knowledge across the curriculum, including technical accuracy (spelling, punctuation and grammar), to address pupils' gaps in foundational literacy"; "Leaders should continue to strengthen staff training to ensure that the curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is adapted consistently well, that education, health and care plans are implemented effectively and that the impact of these strategies is monitored rigorously to close pupils' gaps in understanding"; "Leaders should continue to strengthen their actions to support further improvement in pupils' attendance, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities"; "Leaders should continue to ensure that staff manage behaviour consistently well and that all pupils get the support they need to behave well, so that low-level disruption in lessons reduces".

From the headteacher's welcome: "Priory Lincoln is an academy which is an inspirational place to learn and work. We proudly serve our community and are fiercely ambitious for our students who we support to flourish and to become true citizens of the world. Our learning community has a culture which recognises and celebrates success in both the taught and wider curriculum."

In 2026, pupils at The Priory City of Lincoln Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

30% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 35.6 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 28.3, against 41.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.4 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 157 families put The Priory City of Lincoln Academy as their first choice and 298 named it as one of their preferences, for 166 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 21 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Priory City of Lincoln Academy are St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy (0.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 39.9); The Priory Witham Academy (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.7); The Priory Academy LSST (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52); and Lincolnshire Secure Unit (1.7 miles).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than The Priory City of Lincoln Academy.

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is one of 14 schools run by The Priory Federation of Academies, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.8 in 2024/25.

67 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Priory City of Lincoln Academy (as of April 2026): 43% would recommend the school, 45% say their child is happy there and 23% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (52%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (23%).

Of the 167 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 55% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 71 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 52% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 25% into work. 7% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

35.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Lincoln Central Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is City School (adjacent), 80 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 248 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lincolnshire (33), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, The Priory City of Lincoln Academy issued 618 suspensions, 65.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 13 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Priory City of Lincoln Academy are Hartsholme Academy (0.3 miles), Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School (0.7 miles), Bracebridge Infant and Nursery School (1.1 miles) and Lincoln Birchwood Junior School (1.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.