Across Northamptonshire, nearly nine thousand children will soon be starting at a brand new secondary school.
Schoolchildren across England are currently enjoying their summer holidays. But the start of September will bring with it the new 2025/26 school year, calling them back to the classroom. Among them will be a cohort of thousands of recent primary school leavers embarking on the next stage of their educational journey, one where they will work towards key qualifications and prepare themselves for life after school.
To mark the rapidly approaching school year, we’re revisiting the best performing state-funded secondary schools across Northamptonshire. To do this, we’ve created a league table of the top schools in both the North an West Northamptonshire council areas, based on our own personal ‘gold standard’.
The key figure this draws on each school’s Progress 8 score, using the most recently-available exam data (currently for 2023/24). This is an official metric showing how quickly pupils progressed compared to their peers, from when they left primary school to when they took their GCSEs. We’ve only included schools with a score above 0, considered a positive score overall. It’s also worth noting that performance data has now been finalised, so results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results.
We’ve also made sure each school on the list had a positive rating in its latest Ofsted inspection. These inspections are going through some changes at the moment, but we’ve restricted our list to those with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here are the 19 local schools that made the list:
1. Bishop Stopford School
At the top of the list is Bishop Stopford, an Anglican secondary academy and sixth form in Kettering, North Northamptonshire. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a high Progress 8 score of 1.02 - earning it a place in the highest band available, the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
2. Northampton School for Boys
Next up is this secondary academy and sixth form in Northampton. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.95. | Google
3. Northampton Academy
Another secondary academy and sixth form in Northampton, this one was also most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.87. | Google
4. Wootton Park School
Wootton Park School is an all-through academy in Northampton. It was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.65. | Google