The Priory City of Lincoln Academy Review 2026, Oversubscribed Lincoln secondary with a sports aptitude route and a broad post-16 offer

On Skellingthorpe Road, this is a large Lincoln secondary with sixth form, a clear house identity, and a practical approach to pathways after 16. It is part of The Priory Federation of Academies Trust, which operates a group of academies across Lincolnshire.

The headline context is straightforward. The most recent inspection found the school Requires Improvement overall, while judging behaviour, personal development, leadership and sixth form as Good. That combination often signals a school where routines and culture are in better shape than academic consistency across subjects, and where the next stage of improvement needs to land in the classroom, curriculum sequencing, and reading and attendance. The 2024 outcome data align with that picture, with below-average results at GCSE and A level, plus a Progress 8 score that indicates students make less progress than similar pupils nationally.

For families, the practical draw is also clear. Demand is higher than supply for Year 7 places, and there is a specific sports aptitude route for a small proportion of the intake. For those thinking longer term, the sixth form model is explicitly multi-pathway, including academic, technical and vocational routes delivered within the trust’s Lincoln sixth form campuses.

A “big school” feel is baked in, both in numbers and in the structure used to organise daily life. With a capacity of 950, the academy runs with house identity as one of the main ways to make scale manageable. The current house system is built around Alexander, Boole and Swift, and it is designed to do more than create points tables. The house calendar includes events such as a house chess tournament, a house performance competition, creative writing and “trash fashion”, with student leadership roles across year groups.

Pastoral staffing is presented in a detailed and accessible way, which matters when families are trying to understand who actually holds the day-to-day responsibility for support. The published structure includes heads of year and pastoral managers for each year group, plus a named safeguarding team and clear routes to contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputies.

There is also a visible emphasis on attendance and belonging, which is unsurprising given that attendance is one of the improvement levers flagged in formal evaluation. The school’s broader communications and reward partnerships reinforce that attendance and participation sit near the top of the priority list.

Leadership information is published directly by the school. The headteacher is Mr M Whitaker, and he is also listed within the academy’s governance information.

This is a secondary school with sixth form, so the results picture needs to be read across GCSE and post-16 outcomes.

GCSE outcomes (most recent published data)

The key progress indicator is the clearest starting point. The Progress 8 score is -0.64, which indicates students made below-average progress from their starting points across eight subjects.

Attainment and EBacc measures also sit on the lower side. The average EBacc APS is 2.99, and 7.8% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across EBacc.

Rank context comes from FindMySchool rankings based on official data. Ranked 3,498th in England and 12th in Lincoln for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking). This places performance below England average, within the bottom 40% band of schools in England.

A composite measure across GCSE and A level also sits low. The combined GCSE and A level composite rank is 2,153rd in England on the FindMySchool measure.

A level outcomes (most recent published data)

At A level, the grade profile points to a relatively small proportion of top grades. The percentage of entries at A* is 2.47%, and A is also 2.47%. The proportion achieving A*–B is 23.46%, compared with an England average of 47.2%.

Rank context, again using FindMySchool rankings based on official data: Ranked 2,342nd in England and 9th in Lincoln for A level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking). This sits below England average and within the lower band nationally.

What those figures mean in practice

The data point to a school where consistency across subjects remains the main academic workstream, rather than an environment where results alone will carry the decision. For many families, the right question becomes “is the direction of travel and the daily experience right for my child”, rather than “is this an outcomes leader”.

If you are comparing Lincoln secondaries, it is worth using FindMySchool’s local comparison tools to place GCSE and A level outcomes side by side with nearby alternatives, then filtering your shortlist by admissions criteria and travel practicality.

The inspection detail provides useful specificity about where improvement is targeted. Curriculum breadth and consistency across subjects were not fully embedded at the time of the last inspection, and leaders were directed to ensure that the curriculum is ambitious, broad and balanced for all pupils.

Reading is treated as a priority intervention area, with targeted support for weaker readers, including staff training and additional resources. The same evidence base notes that catch-up reading sessions were, at that point, displacing some modern foreign languages curriculum time, which is the kind of trade-off families may want to ask about directly when visiting or discussing provision.

Subject breadth is clearly intended through the published curriculum map, which includes humanities, languages, performance, computing and technology pathways, and an explicitly described Key Stage 4 options process. The practical question for parents is how effectively that breadth translates into sustained learning routines in classrooms across departments, particularly for pupils who need strong scaffolding and predictable academic structure.

Where destinations are published as official cohort data, the picture is mixed, with a notable emphasis on employment and apprenticeships alongside university progression.

For the 2023/24 leavers cohort (61 students):

• 34% progressed to university

• 20% started apprenticeships

• 26% entered employment

• 3% progressed to further education

That profile suggests a sixth form culture that supports multiple routes, not a single university-only pipeline.

The trust’s sixth form prospectus reinforces that approach through its stated structure of academic, technical and vocational pathways across its Lincoln campuses, with applications managed through a single portal and staged process. For families who want an apprenticeship or employment-aligned route that still sits within a school community, this is a meaningful feature to investigate. For families aiming for highly academic destinations, the sensible step is to ask for the most recent course-level performance and progression information, because headline A level outcomes alone do not explain how individual subjects or vocational programmes are performing.

Admissions are a central part of the decision here because demand exceeds the number of Year 7 places, and because there is a specific aptitude pathway in sport.

Year 7 demand and competitiveness

For the most recent admissions cycle captured there were 287 applications for 166 offers, and the school is classed as oversubscribed, with 1.73 applications per place. The ratio of first preferences to first-preference offers is 1.08, which indicates that even first-choice demand slightly outstrips supply.

The Published Admission Number for Year 7 in the 2026/27 admissions arrangements is 150 places, which is the core supply number families should anchor to when thinking about competitiveness.

Sport aptitude route

A distinctive feature is that up to 15 students may be admitted into Year 7 on the basis of aptitude for sport, alongside the normal admissions route. The published assessment dates for the 2026 entry cycle were 01 October 2025 and 08 October 2025, with families asked to register at least a week in advance, and with the important clarification that taking the assessment is not itself an application.

For families considering this route, the practical implication is that you must run the aptitude process in parallel with the Local Authority application, rather than treating it as a separate pathway.

Application route and key dates for September 2026 entry

Applications for secondary places in Lincolnshire are Local Authority coordinated. For September 2026 entry, the Local Authority application window opened 08 September 2025 and the national closing date was 31 October 2025. Lincolnshire also publishes a final late-changes date of 12 December 2025, and states that admissions reopen for late applications and changes on 02 March 2026.

Because dates are time sensitive and policies can shift slightly year to year, families should treat the school website and Lincolnshire’s admissions pages as the definitive reference for the next cycle, and use FindMySchool tools to sanity-check travel distance and realistic alternatives if the first preference is high risk.

Sixth form admission

Sixth form entry operates on a direct application model through the trust’s portal. For the 2026 sixth form cycle described in the published prospectus, applications open 20 October 2025, and stage 1 applications should be completed before 06 February 2026 for equal consideration, with offers made before Easter.

For external applicants, it is worth reading entry requirements carefully at course level, especially where vocational or technical programmes have expectations about prior study or baseline attainment.

Pastoral provision is structured and transparent, with named teams and clearly stated roles. The published safeguarding team includes a Designated Safeguarding Lead, designated safeguarding officers, deputy DSLs who also hold attendance manager responsibilities, and a family support worker role within safeguarding.

The school also states that it supports Operation Encompass, which is designed to enable rapid school support for children affected by domestic abuse incidents reported to police, using next-day notification to the setting’s key safeguarding adult.

On the formal evaluation side, inspectors recorded that safeguarding systems and training were taken seriously and routinely checked, with staff described as vigilant and aware of risks.

A realistic point for families to weigh is that the school’s improvement priorities include attendance, including persistent absenteeism for some disadvantaged pupils. That does not automatically mean a child will struggle, but it does mean the school is actively working on building consistent attendance routines and re-engaging some students.

This is a school that uses structured enrichment to widen participation, and it does so in a way that is visible and scheduled rather than informal.

A structured enrichment model

The academy describes an Achievement and Personal Enrichment Programme, with activities running after school and changing across the year. A separate enrichments page states that, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, students can take part in activities from 2.45pm to 3.45pm, with the programme changing three times a year across September, January and April.

That model suits pupils who benefit from predictable, in-school routines for clubs rather than ad hoc sign-ups, and it also helps parents who need clarity about what is realistically available on which days.

Named clubs and activities

The published enrichment information includes a range of specific options, including:

• Book Club and Chess Club

• Choir

• Library Crafternoon

• Couch to 5k

• Netball, dodgeball, badminton, boys football, girls football

• STEM activity slots

• Axiom Maths and Sparx Maths support sessions

• A school production activity listed as Grease

These named activities matter because they indicate what pupils can actually join, rather than generic claims about “lots of clubs”.

Sport, facilities, and community use

Sport is also a visible pillar, reinforced by both the admissions aptitude route and the fact that the academy offers sports and swimming facilities to the wider community outside school hours. The school describes hireable sport and swimming provision and “Junior Learn to Swim” classes led by its swim team for children aged 4 to 16.

For students, the implication is that sport is not only a curriculum subject but also a daily part of the wider life of the site, with facilities that appear to be in regular use.

Personal development programmes

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is available from age 14, with clear description of the programme’s sections and progression. This is particularly relevant for students who benefit from structured responsibility and a wider portfolio for post-16 or post-18 progression.

This is a state school, so there are no tuition fees. Families should, however, budget for the usual associated costs such as uniform, transport, trips, and optional activities.

The published academy day for September 2025 shows registration and tutor time starting at 8.30am, with the final period running to 3.00pm. For Year 7 transition information, the school also references an 8.30am start and a 3.00pm departure time.

For after-school provision, the structured enrichment window described on the school site runs to 3.45pm on three weekdays, which may cover a meaningful part of the childcare gap for some families, though it is not the same as a staffed wraparound club that runs to early evening.

For travel, local bus services operate along the Skellingthorpe Road corridor, including Stagecoach services connecting Skellingthorpe and Lincoln, which many families use for secondary travel planning.

• Inspection grade and academic consistency. The most recent inspection judged overall effectiveness and the quality of education as Requires Improvement. Behaviour, personal development, leadership and sixth form were judged Good, so the daily culture picture may be stronger than academic outcomes suggest, but classroom consistency remains the core question to probe.

• Attendance is a stated improvement priority. Persistent absence was identified as a concern for some groups, which can affect learning continuity. Families should ask how attendance is monitored, what early intervention looks like, and how the school supports re-engagement.

• Curriculum trade-offs for reading intervention. Reading catch-up was described as replacing some modern foreign languages lessons for certain pupils at the time of inspection. If languages matter to your child, or if your child is likely to receive reading intervention, it is worth clarifying how this is now managed.

• Competition for Year 7 places. The school is oversubscribed, and the application ratio indicates more applicants than places. Families should make sure their Lincolnshire application preferences include realistic alternatives, and should understand the sports aptitude route if considering it.

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is a large Lincoln secondary with sixth form, a clear house and enrichment structure, and a practical approach to post-16 routes that include technical, vocational and apprenticeship pathways as well as A levels. The strongest current fit is for families who value breadth of opportunity and structured pastoral systems, and who are prepared to engage closely with the school’s improvement journey in teaching, curriculum delivery and attendance. It suits students who will benefit from predictable routines, a scheduled enrichment programme, and a school that takes safeguarding systems seriously. The main hurdle is admission, and the main decision factor is whether the learning experience matches your child’s needs, given below-average recent outcomes and the Requires Improvement judgement.