Moulton School and Science College Review 2026: ASPIRE ethos, broad curriculum, strong STEM enrichment

A village-edge secondary with the scale of a town school, Moulton School and Science College serves Moulton and surrounding communities north of Northampton, with around 1,400 students on roll and a published capacity of 1,393.

The tone is set by a clear values framework and an ASPIRE ethos that emphasises learning, personal responsibility and service. Leadership is split between strategic oversight and day to day school leadership: official records list Dr Angela Dabbs as headteacher or principal, while the school identifies Mr Barrie Murphy as headteacher in its public-facing communications.

The latest Ofsted inspection (June 2023) graded the school Good across all categories, including sixth form provision.

The school describes five community values, Respect, Safety, Positivity, Cooperation, and Kindness, and uses ASPIRE as the organising language for expectations and conduct. This gives families a useful steer on culture: a structured environment with clear routines, explicit standards, and a strong emphasis on behaviour and relationships.

Day to day leadership is presented as hands-on. Mr Barrie Murphy is positioned as the headteacher on the school website, and he was publicly introduced as Acting Headteacher in September 2025, which helps anchor the current leadership period.

Students who need a different type of support can access targeted provision within a mainstream setting. The Bridge is the school’s designated specialist provision for students with Education, Health and Care Plans where autism is the primary need, with places for up to 30 students, and selection handled via a professional panel rather than informal internal allocation.

Two practical culture-signals also stand out. First, the school has a clear stance on mobile devices for Years 7 to 11, describing itself as a no smart phone zone during school hours, with confiscation for unauthorised use. Second, it places visible weight on safeguarding systems and staff training, which matters for parental confidence even when academic fit is still being assessed.

GCSE outcomes

Ranked 1,687th in England and 9th in Northampton for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), this performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The Attainment 8 score is 47.3. Progress 8 is -0.1, suggesting progress that is slightly below the England average once prior attainment is taken into account. The school’s average EBacc point score is 4.18, and 19.2% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above across the EBacc subjects.

For parents, the practical implication is that outcomes look broadly steady rather than ultra-selective. Students with strong habits and consistent attendance should find a system capable of supporting solid results, while students who need frequent re-teaching and catch-up benefit most when support is engaged early rather than left to Year 11.

A-level outcomes

Ranked 1,768th in England and 14th in Northampton for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the sixth form sits below the England average overall (bottom 40% of providers by this measure).

A-level grades show 2.95% at A*, 13.08% at A, 22.36% at B, and 38.4% at A* to B combined. For context, the England averages are 23.6% for A* to A and 47.2% for A* to B.

The implication is that the sixth form is best assessed on fit and pathway design as much as on headline grade distribution. Students who thrive in structured support, clear subject guidance, and good careers information can do well here, but families focused primarily on maximising top-grade concentration may want to benchmark against other local sixth form options using FindMySchool’s Local Hub comparison tools.

The curriculum intent is explicitly broad and ambitious, and subject planning is described as carefully sequenced so that knowledge builds over time. Teaching is supported by staff with strong subject knowledge, and learning activities are generally chosen to help students grasp new material quickly.

The main improvement priority in the latest formal evaluation is consistency in checking understanding before moving on to more complex concepts. In practice, that means students who ask questions, complete practice tasks conscientiously, and attend intervention sessions when offered are likely to benefit most. It also means parents should pay attention to how the school communicates gaps and re-teaching, especially in subjects where misconceptions can compound over time.

Literacy support is a visible strand, with structured reading interventions for students who are not yet confident and fluent readers, plus scheduled reading activity that aims to build habitual engagement rather than treating reading as a narrow remedial tool.

Sixth form and post-18 pathways

For the 2023/24 cohort, 71% of leavers progressed to university, 22% entered employment, 3% started apprenticeships, and 1% went into further education. With a cohort size of 93, this points to a mainstream sixth form where university remains the dominant route, but employment also represents a significant and visible pathway.

Oxbridge data indicates two Cambridge applications, one offer, and one acceptance in the measurement period. Even with small numbers, that single acceptance is meaningful as a signal that the school can support highly competitive applications when individual subject fit, predicted grades, and preparation align.

The practical implication is that families should ask about tailored support rather than generic aspiration: subject-specific super-curricular guidance, interview preparation where relevant, and the balance between academic study time and enrichment. The school positions careers guidance as well planned, and the inspection evidence supports that emphasis.

Year 11 to Year 12 transition

The school’s sixth form admits internal and external students on the same criteria, and it offers a mix of A-levels and vocational routes, which helps accommodate different learning styles and post-18 plans. The Sixth Form Centre itself is described as purpose-built and award-winning in architectural terms, and it opens beyond the standard school day, which supports independent study habits for students who choose to use that time well.

Year 7 entry

Moulton School and Science College is a state-funded school with no tuition fees. Year 7 applications for September 2026 entry are coordinated by West Northamptonshire. The council’s published timeline is clear: applications open from 10 September 2025, the deadline is 31 October 2025, and offers are issued on 02 March 2026.

If your decision depends on travel practicality, start early. Use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand the real-world distance and journey options from your home, then sense-check against the admission arrangements published for the relevant year group by the local authority and the school.

Sixth form entry

For September 2026 entry, the school states that sixth form applications open in February, and it published a Sixth Form Open Evening date of Thursday 06 November 2025, with scheduled presentations and subject tours. Because open event dates move each year, families should treat early November as the typical season and confirm the current cycle directly with the school.

Safeguarding is described as a strong culture with effective recording, monitoring, and timely action where risks arise, and the safeguarding judgement is effective.

Pastoral support is also framed through structured roles and targeted spaces. The inspection evidence references tailored support for students who need help modifying behaviour, and the school’s broader information set highlights inclusion routes such as The Bridge for students with EHCPs for autism. This combination suggests a model that expects good behaviour as the norm, while still recognising that some students need more active scaffolding to succeed.

Attendance is an explicit area to watch. Strategies have reduced persistent absence, but overall attendance is still identified as needing improvement, which is relevant because the school’s curriculum sequencing depends on regular participation. Families with children who have health issues, anxiety, or complex needs should ask specific questions about attendance support plans and reintegration routines.

The enrichment offer has a strong STEM flavour, reflecting the school’s science college identity and the way it positions cultural capital and academic extension as part of its mission. The published STEM list includes Coding Club, Cryptography Club, F1 in Schools for Years 7 and 8, and Airgineers where students use 3D printing and race their own drones. For older students, there is a sixth form engineering club and a STEM project linked to a Royal Society research project on water quality and diversity.

Creative arts provision is also well-defined rather than generic. Music clubs listed include senior and junior choir, orchestra, jazz band, string group, and sixth form bands, with instrument tuition spanning keyboard, brass, woodwind, strings, guitar, and drums. Performance points include a Christmas concert and an end of year concert, which gives parents a helpful sense of rhythm and expectation across the year.

For students who want structured challenge outside exams, Duke of Edinburgh appears as a consistent strand, including in sixth form, and the school also references debate and student leadership routes such as student council and ambassador roles. The implication is a co-curricular model that can support both confidence-building and university applications, provided students commit to sustained participation rather than sampling briefly.

The published school day runs from 08.45 to 15.15, while the Sixth Form Centre opens from 08.00 to 16.00 to support independent study before and after lessons.

Term dates are published for the current academic year, including a spring term start on Tuesday 06 January 2026, which is useful for planning travel and family arrangements.

Transport is a major practical theme. The school states that most students travel by bus from surrounding villages; buses typically arrive between 08.15 and 08.45 and collect students between 15.15 and 15.45. It also warns that the area outside the school becomes congested at these times and asks families not to use specific areas for parking, which is relevant for drop-off planning and road safety.

• Attendance and learning continuity. Overall attendance is identified as an area for further improvement. For students who miss lessons regularly, gaps can build quickly in a carefully sequenced curriculum.

• Consistency of checking understanding. A stated improvement priority is ensuring that all teachers consistently check prior knowledge before moving to harder content. Students who benefit from frequent feedback should ask how that looks in their key subjects.

• Phone and device expectations. Years 7 to 11 are expected to follow a no smart phone approach during school hours, with confiscation for unauthorised use. For some families this is a welcome boundary; for others it requires a mindset shift and clear routines.

• Traffic and travel pinch points. The school highlights congestion around arrival and collection windows. Families planning to drive should consider safety, timing, and alternative drop-off strategies.

Moulton School and Science College offers a clear values-led culture, a broad mainstream curriculum, and an enrichment programme with unusual specificity in STEM and music. The current external evaluation positions it as Good across the board, with effective safeguarding and a strong emphasis on character, careers, and next steps.

It suits students who respond well to structure, take-up enrichment willingly, and benefit from clearly signposted pastoral support. Families weighing sixth form should focus on pathway fit and support structures, while Year 7 applicants should treat the local authority timeline as non-negotiable and plan visits and travel logistics early.