Montsaye Academy is not a school whose recent story can be reduced to a single headline. It is a large, mixed 11 to 18 academy serving Rothwell and the surrounding area, and it has faced a sharp reset in expectations, systems and culture over the last two years. The leadership picture has changed, with Ben Baines confirmed as Principal from September 2024, alongside an expanded senior team and external support.
Academic outcomes sit below England average on FindMySchool’s measures. For GCSEs, the academy ranks 3,326th in England and 6th locally (Kettering) on this results, placing it below England average in the bottom 40% of schools. At A level, the sixth form ranks 2,261st in England and 5th locally (Kettering), also below England average. These rankings come from FindMySchool’s analysis of official results data and are most useful as a directional comparison when shortlisting schools.
The practical proposition is straightforward. This is a state school with no tuition fees. Day to day costs are mainly uniform, trips, equipment and optional extras such as instrumental tuition.
The academy’s published mission and values are framed around trust, success and character, with Respect, Honesty and Compassion used as the key reference points in how students are expected to conduct themselves. That matters here because the school has had to rebuild confidence in routines, behaviour and safeguarding, and values only become meaningful when they show up consistently in corridors, classrooms and follow up from staff.
A notable feature of the current phase is leadership capacity. The senior leadership team is presented publicly and includes clearly defined roles for curriculum, pastoral, behaviour and inclusion. That level of role clarity is often a deliberate choice when a school is working on consistency, particularly around teaching quality, conduct and attendance.
The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
Reading also appears as an explicit priority. The school day includes DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read) within the afternoon structure, signalling a push to normalise reading as part of the timetable rather than leaving it to optional intervention.
Two inspection points are central to understanding the current context. The most recent graded Ofsted inspection (November 2023) judged the academy Inadequate overall and found safeguarding ineffective. A monitoring visit letter published in May 2024 stated that safeguarding is effective and that leaders had made progress, though more work was needed for the school to no longer require special measures.
FindMySchool’s results places Montsaye Academy below England average on both GCSE and A level outcomes, and the underlying measures help explain why.
Ranked 3,326th in England and 6th in Kettering for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).
Average Attainment 8 score is 37.7.
Average Progress 8 score is -0.57, which indicates students make less progress than similar students nationally from their starting points.
5.7% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the English Baccalaureate subjects, with an EBacc average point score of 3.25.
Taken together, this points to two implications for families. First, the school’s improvement work needs to translate into stronger classroom consistency across subjects, not just pockets of success. Second, for students who are academically ambitious, the quality of day to day teaching, intervention and homework routines will matter more than headline messaging, so it is sensible to probe these areas in visits and conversations.
Ranked 2,261st in England and 5th in Kettering for A level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).
23.42% of entries achieved A* to B. The England average is 47.2%.
9.49% of entries achieved A* or A. The England average is 23.6%.
The sixth form numbers suggest that outcomes are currently a limiting factor for some students, particularly those targeting the most competitive courses. The practical question for parents and students is whether the sixth form’s teaching, study supervision and UCAS guidance are improving quickly enough to close that gap.
Parents comparing options locally should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and the Comparison Tool to see the same measures side by side across nearby schools, as raw percentages only become meaningful when set against realistic alternatives.
England ranks and key metrics (where available)
A-Level A*-B
23.42%
% of students achieving grades A*-B
GCSE 9–7
—
% of students achieving grades 9-7
The school’s curriculum intent emphasises a broad Key Stage 3, then optionality at Key Stage 4, with additional contact time in English and mathematics. The framing is explicit about sequencing, knowledge and preparation for next steps, and it also references an SMSC programme built around Excellence, Resilience and Aspiration, alongside themed ERA days.
The most useful way to think about teaching and learning here is through the lens of consistency. When a school is rebuilding, families should look for a small set of evidence markers: clear lesson routines, effective behaviour management that protects learning time, frequent checks for understanding, and a reliable approach to addressing gaps in reading, writing and numeracy.
An encouraging sign is the way enrichment and reading are formalised into the structure of the day, including a timetabled period that blends DEAR time with a final lesson block, followed by enrichment and revision time. That kind of timetable design can support habits, but it only works if attendance, punctuality and follow up are stable.
Montsaye Academy has a sixth form, and the destination picture is mixed and vocationally weighted.
For the 2023 to 2024 cohort (59 students), 31% progressed to university, 5% started apprenticeships, and 51% entered employment. This implies a cohort where many students are taking direct routes into the labour market, and where apprenticeship guidance, employability support and work experience can be as important as UCAS for a significant proportion of the year group.
The academy’s sixth form application materials highlight a structured pathway from application through conditional acceptance and induction. For students who thrive in smaller groups and prefer a familiar setting, that structured approach can be reassuring. For those targeting highly selective universities, it is worth asking for subject level outcome patterns, how independent study is supervised, and how the school supports high grade profiles.
Quality of Education
Inadequate
Behaviour & Attitudes
Inadequate
Personal Development
Inadequate
Leadership & Management
Inadequate
FMS Inspection Score calculated by FindMySchool based on official inspection data.
Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated by North Northamptonshire Council for families living in the council area. For September 2026 entry, applications open on 10 September 2025 and the on time closing date is 31 October 2025. Offers are made on 2 March 2026.
Families outside the local authority area should check their home authority’s coordinated process, as deadlines and evidence requirements can differ slightly by council.
Sixth form applications are made directly to the academy. The published deadline for September 2026 applications is Friday 13 February 2026, with conditional acceptance letters issued from the week commencing 2 March, and an induction event planned for the week commencing 22 June (date to be confirmed).
Applications
171
Total received
Places Offered
162
Subscription Rate
1.1x
Applications per place
Pastoral quality is central to a school’s credibility, especially after a period of intensified scrutiny. The school has a designated safeguarding lead within the senior team structure, and the May 2024 monitoring letter states that safeguarding is effective.
Families should still take a practical approach to due diligence. Ask how bullying reports are logged and followed up, how the school manages behaviour escalation, and how communication works when a student is struggling. The academy’s published behaviour approach frames expectations through its core values and includes a stated focus on reporting and addressing bullying allegations, which is the right direction in policy terms. The real test is consistency in implementation across all year groups and subjects.
A clear strength is the amount of structured activity that sits around the timetable.
Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a named pillar. It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, open from Year 8, and runs weekly after school. For the right student, cadets can bring routines, responsibility and a clear progression structure through ranks and skills.
Sport and fitness are unusually visible because the academy is linked to a community sports centre and swimming pool offer. The published clubs timetables show, for example, free swim sessions and fitness suite access at set times, as well as clubs such as badminton, netball, dodgeball and futsal. The implication is that students who engage can build a consistent after school routine that supports wellbeing and attendance.
Music is supported through peripatetic instrumental lessons delivered by visiting specialist teachers, and the school publishes instrument routes such as piano or keyboard, woodwind, guitar, strings, brass and drum kit. For students who would not otherwise access instrumental tuition, this can be a meaningful route into confidence, discipline and performance opportunities.
The school day structure published to parents indicates an 8.35am start with form time, a five period day with DEAR time embedded before the final lesson block, and enrichment and Year 11 revision running to 4.00pm. Registers close at 9.05am, underlining how punctuality is treated as a non negotiable.
There is no nursery provision at the academy, and it is a secondary and post 16 setting. For transport, families should review local bus options and walking routes, then sanity check journey times at the actual start and finish points, including the later enrichment finish if a student intends to stay for clubs.
Recent inspection history. The November 2023 outcome is serious, and families should ask directly what has changed since then, and what evidence the academy can share about improvements in behaviour, attendance, teaching consistency and safeguarding practice.
Academic outcomes are currently a limiting factor. GCSE and A level results are below England average, so students who need the strongest academic stretch should probe subject level teaching quality and intervention depth, rather than relying on general reassurance.
Sixth form destinations skew towards employment. With a majority of the cohort entering employment and a smaller proportion progressing to university, students should confirm how apprenticeships, work experience and careers guidance are structured and staffed.
Consistency matters more than promises. Policy and leadership structures look clearer than in the recent past, but families should prioritise how reliably classroom routines and behaviour expectations are applied across the whole week and across subjects.
Montsaye Academy is a state secondary and sixth form that has had to rebuild from a low point, and the most credible parts of its current offer are the explicit focus on safeguarding, routines and structured enrichment. Results remain below where most families would want them to be, and that makes the day to day quality of teaching and behaviour systems the decisive factors when choosing between local options.
Who it suits: families seeking a local, mixed 11 to 18 school with a broad extracurricular structure, including cadets and strong access to sport and fitness facilities, and who are prepared to interrogate evidence of improvement rather than relying on labels. For academically ambitious students, the best fit will depend on whether subject level teaching and sixth form outcomes are demonstrably improving.
It is a school in an improvement phase. The most recent graded inspection outcome in the public record is Inadequate (November 2023), followed by a monitoring visit in 2024 noting progress and an effective safeguarding position. On this results, GCSE and A level results sit below England average, so families should focus on what has changed in teaching consistency, behaviour and attendance, and what evidence the school can share now.
Applications are coordinated by North Northamptonshire Council for in area families. For September 2026 entry, applications open on 10 September 2025, close on 31 October 2025, and offers are made on 2 March 2026.
Applications are made directly to the academy. The published deadline is Friday 13 February 2026, with conditional acceptance letters planned from the week commencing 2 March, and induction planned for late June (date to be confirmed).
On this results, the academy’s GCSE profile includes an Attainment 8 score of 37.7 and a Progress 8 score of -0.57. The FindMySchool ranking places it 3,326th in England and 6th locally (Kettering) for GCSE outcomes.
Combined Cadet Force is a named option from Year 8 with weekly after school parades. Sport is well integrated through the linked community sports centre and swimming facilities, with published clubs including sessions such as badminton, netball and structured fitness suite access. Instrumental music is also supported through visiting specialist teachers.
Get in touch with the school directly
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