The Gainsborough Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire County Council, teaching 767 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted rated it Requires improvement at its last graded inspection in July 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 38 (England 46.1). Its 2025–2026 calendar lists 20 holidays.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Gainsborough Academy.

Latest inspection
Requires improvement Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationRequires improvement
Behaviour & attitudesRequires improvement
Personal developmentRequires improvement
Leadership & managementRequires improvement
Serious Weaknesses S5 Reinspection · Inspected 10 Jul 2024 · Published 18 Sep 2024
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Gainsborough Academy.

The Gainsborough Academy term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 2 Autumn Term Begins
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 24 Autumn Half Term Starts
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 4 Autumn Half Term Ends / School Reopens
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 19 Christmas Holiday Starts
  • 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 5 Christmas Holiday Ends / Spring Term Begins
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 13 Spring Half Term Starts
  • 24 Spring Half Term Ends / School Reopens
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 2 Easter Holiday Starts
  • 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
  • 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
  • 20 Easter Holiday Ends / Summer Term Begins
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1 May Day Holiday Starts
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 5 School Reopens after May Day
  • 22 Summer Half Term Starts
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Summer Half Term Ends / School Reopens
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 20 Summer Holiday Starts
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Autumn Term Begins Sep 2, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Starts Oct 24, 2025 Holiday
  • Autumn Half Term Ends / School Reopens Nov 4, 2025 Holiday
  • Christmas Holiday Starts Dec 19, 2025 Holiday
  • Christmas Holiday Ends / Spring Term Begins Jan 5, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Half Term Starts Feb 13, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Half Term Ends / School Reopens Feb 24, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Starts Apr 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Ends / Summer Term Begins Apr 20, 2026 Holiday
  • May Day Holiday Starts May 1, 2026 Holiday
  • School Reopens after May Day May 5, 2026 Event
  • Summer Half Term Starts May 22, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Half Term Ends / School Reopens Jun 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Holiday Starts Jul 20, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
38 Attainment 8 England 46.1
24.4% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
39.8% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Gainsborough Academy with Lincolnshire County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 38 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Lincolnshire County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 38
Lincolnshire County Council 45.1 England 46.1 -8.1 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 24.4%
Lincolnshire County Council 41.9% England 45.4% -21 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 36
Lincolnshire County Council 33.8 England 34.9 +1.1 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 4.3
Lincolnshire County Council 15.4 England 15.5 -11.2 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 53.8%
Lincolnshire County Council 26.5% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 119
Attendance 39.8% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Lincolnshire County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 39.8%
Lincolnshire County Council 17.7% England 17.8% +22 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 12.8%
Lincolnshire County Council 6.6% England 6.8% +6 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 88% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Lincolnshire County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 88%
Lincolnshire County Council 92% England 92% -4 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 89%
Lincolnshire County Council 84% England 83% +6 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for The Gainsborough Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Gainsborough Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.