Northampton’s state schools get better results than 64% of towns in England
Across their best eight GCSEs, pupils in Northampton score 48.6 on Attainment 8, above both Northamptonshire’s towns (45) and towns in England (45.9). 83 state-funded schools are located in Northampton’s built-up area. Northampton grades B for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #8 of 31 in Northamptonshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery, 32% of pupils are on free school meals and 85% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 60%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Northampton grades B for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (62% meet the standard)Better than 55% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (48.6 and 50%)Better than 67% of towns in England
Each of Northampton’s 60 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Northampton’s 12 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolWest Northamptonshire’s average school
The primary figure: 60 primaries in the town, 9,470 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 12 secondaries in the town, 2,963 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Northampton’s 83 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Northampton’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 4% at Preston Hedges Primary School to 40% at Thorplands Primary School. Against schools with the same intake, Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery does best: 85% with 32% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 60%. 26 of 60 primaries and 4 of 12 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Northampton
West Northamptonshire Council handles applications for every state school in Northampton, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 12 of Northampton’s 69 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 18 schools are at or over it.
St Andrew's Ceva134%
Wootton Park133%
Hunsbury Park124%
The Duston113%
Northampton109%
Northampton School for Boys109%
Lyncrest incl. nursery109%
Castle incl. nursery108%
East Hunsbury108%
Thorplands incl. nursery108%
Show all 69 schools
Woodvale incl. nursery107%
Eastfield incl. nursery105%
Barry incl. nursery105%
Green Oaks incl. nursery105%
Stimpson Avenue incl. nursery105%
Bridgewater incl. nursery103%
Caroline Chisholm102%
Hopping Hill incl. nursery101%
Duston Eldean100%
Parklands100%
Preston Hedges100%
Woodland View99%
St James incl. nursery99%
Whitehills99%
Simon de Senlis99%
Kingsthorpe Grove incl. nursery99%
Pineham Barns98%
Kingsthorpe College98%
Abington Vale incl. nursery97%
Weston Favell incl. nursery97%
Kingsthorpe Village96%
Spring Lane incl. nursery96%
Abbeyfield96%
All Saints96%
Kingsley95%
Malcolm Arnold Preparatory95%
Boothville incl. nursery95%
Headlands95%
Weston Favell94%
Sunnyside93%
St Luke's93%
Queen Eleanor incl. nursery93%
Northampton School for Girls93%
Upton Meadows92%
Lumbertubs incl. nursery92%
Cedar Road91%
Ecton Brook90%
Lings incl. nursery89%
Blackthorn89%
Vernon Terrace incl. nursery88%
Malcolm Arnold88%
Delapre86%
Rectory Farm85%
Earl Spencer84%
Millway82%
St Thomas Becket80%
The Arbours79%
Northampton International79%
The Abbey incl. nursery79%
Kings Heath incl. nursery78%
Standens Barn78%
St Mary's76%
Briar Hill incl. nursery74%
Wootton73%
The Good Shepherd incl. nursery67%
Chiltern incl. nursery55%
Hardingstone55%
St Gregory's incl. nursery51%
Overstone Gate7%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
83 state schools in Northampton
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Northampton’s schoolsA14B23C27D415 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 6Good 29Report card 12Inadequate 1Ungraded inspection only 34No published grade 1
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 12 of Northampton’s 83 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Northampton Primary Academy TrustEcton Brook, East Hunsbury, Headlands, Simon de Senlis, Abington Vale, Lings, Upton Meadows, Blackthorn, Thorplands, Rectory Farm
10
3,742
B+C+C+B+ADCCC+C
David Ross Education TrustMalcolm Arnold, Malcolm Arnold Preparatory, Cedar Road, Briar Hill, Kings Heath, The Arbours, Eastfield
7
3,316
B−B+B−A+B+AB+
Greenwood Academies TrustWeston Favell, Woodvale, Sunnyside, Green Oaks, Purple Oaks
5
2,595
B−C−CC
East Midlands Academy TrustNorthampton International, Castle, Stimpson Avenue, Hardingstone
4
2,879
DBC−B−
Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust LtdSt Thomas Becket, The Good Shepherd, St Gregory's, St Mary's
Northampton School for GirlsNorthampton School for Girls
1
1,670
A
Weston Favell Church of England Primary SchoolWeston Favell
1
446
A−
Woodland View Primary SchoolWoodland View
1
417
A−
Northgate School Academy TrustNorthgate School Academy Trust
1
289
—
Billing Brook School Academy TrustBilling Brook Special
1
257
—
Gssc Academy TrustGreenfields Specialist School for Communication
1
106
—
Creating Tomorrow Multi Academy TrustKings Meadow
1
53
—
Skylark TrustHospital and Outreach Education
1
7
—
West Northamptonshire CouncilBridgewater, Boothville, Delapre, Kingsthorpe Grove, Barry, Hopping Hill, Duston Eldean, Whitehills, All Saints, Earl Spencer, Millway, St Andrew's Ceva, Vernon Terrace, Lyncrest, Kingsthorpe Village, Chiltern, Fairfields, Camrose Early Years Centre for Children & Families, Gloucester Nursery, Parklands Nursery, Wallace Road Nursery, Whitehills Nursery
22
6,582
BB−CDC+C−ABC−C−CB−C−C−CC−
After 16
Where Northampton’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
Every state secondary in Northampton has its own sixth form. Northampton College, a further-education college, is in the city.
Special schools and alternative provision in Northampton
Northampton has 6 special schools (Billing Brook Special, Fairfields, Greenfields Specialist School for Communication, Kings Meadow, Northgate School Academy Trust and Purple Oaks: 960 pupils) and 3 alternative provision schools, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), West Northamptonshire Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
West Northamptonshire Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
32nd of 46 English towns and cities of 170,000 to 329,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Northampton, and the top and bottom of the group.
Blisworth 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.4 mi
B+
65%
—
Cogenhoe has the best-graded schools nearby (A−). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Northampton: 8% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Northampton
Are schools in Northampton good?
Northampton’s state schools earn a B against schools across England: primary results beat 55% of towns in England; secondary results beat 67% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by West Northamptonshire council.
What is the best secondary school in Northampton?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Northampton School for Girls: Attainment 8 of 59.2 and 67% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Northampton?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Pineham Barns Primary School: 87% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Northampton secondary schools have sixth forms?
Yes, all 12 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Northampton?
Through West Northamptonshire Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Northampton are full?
18 of 69 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Northampton?
83 open state-funded schools are located in Northampton’s built-up area: 61 primary, 12 secondary and 10 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
