Ofsted: Outstanding trending_up Popular emoji_events #4 in West Northamptonshire public Top 10% UK

Sponne School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Iain Massey

corporate_fareTOVE LEARNING TRUST

location_onTowcester, NN12 6DJ

language Visit Website phone 1327350284

verified

Ofsted

Outstanding

Inspected 2025

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Students

1,436

trending_up

Attainment 8

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GCSE Rank

#5 in West Northamptonshire

#712 of 3,216 nationally

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Sponne School is a Academy converter secondary school in Towcester, serving ages 11-18. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted — the highest possible grade. Demand is above capacity (1.1×) — apply through your local authority on time.

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School Summary

Sponne School is an academy converter in Towcester, West Northamptonshire, admitting pupils aged 11-18. It has a sixth form offering post-16 education. It is part of TOVE LEARNING TRUST. The school has approximately 1,422 pupils on roll, of whom 13% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 52, placing the school #5 in West Northamptonshire and #712 of 3,216 nationally. 55.20% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 22.1% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

The sixth form offers 24 A-level subjects. 48.9% of A-level entries were graded A*–B, with 19.0% at A*–A. A-level value added: 0.07 — sixth-form progress was broadly average.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Outstanding. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.1× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 2 permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 4.2 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

55.20%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)22.1%

Entering EBacc34.90%

EBacc APS4.7

2024

Progress 8 Score

0.27

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

52.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc22.00%

EBacc APS4.6

2023

Progress 8 Score

0.21

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

54.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc37%

EBacc APS4.85

2022

Progress 8 Score

0.33

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

56.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc29%

EBacc APS5.08

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc34%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

0.04

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc46%

EBacc APS4.74

2018

Progress 8 Score

0.29

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

53.8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc41%

EBacc APS4.86

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)90%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment2%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)4%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

99%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)89%

Apprenticeships5%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)1%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

98%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)93%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment3%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)1%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

97%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)91%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment3%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)3%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

97%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)90%

Apprenticeships4%

Employment3%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)3%

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Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

A-level results for students who stayed in sixth form at this school. Value added measures how much progress students made relative to their GCSE starting point.

2025

A-Level Value Added

+0.07

vs expected from GCSEs

Pupils make broadly expected progress at A-level.

Avg Grade

C+

Students

119

Grade Breakdown

Achieving A*7.2%

Achieving A*–A19.0%

Achieving A*–B48.9%

VA Banding Average

Retention rate97.5%

A-level subjects offered24

2024

A-Level Value Added

-0.15

vs expected from GCSEs

Pupils make below-expected progress at A-level.

Avg Grade

C+

Students

Retention rate96.80%

2023

Avg Grade

Students

116

Retention rate94.00%

2022

Avg Grade

B-

Students

120

Retention rate98.3%

Source: DfE A Level and Other 16-18 Results

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

21 January 2025

Inspection Report

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02 October 2012

Inspection Report

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14 February 2012

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-01-21

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2012-10-02

S5 Inspection EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

2010-01-27

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

3.6%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.4%(34 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 1,422 pupils. During this period, there were 51 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 3.6%, which is below the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	1,422	51	3.6%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	1,424	68	4.8%	7.8%	2
2023/24 (Summer term)	1,423	42	3.0%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	1,428	46	3.2%	7.1%	2
2023/24 (Autumn term)	1,427	46	3.2%	8.2%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	1,434	38	2.6%	6.6%	1
2022/23 (Spring term)	1,436	31	2.2%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	1,433	36	2.5%	5.9%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	1,444	39	2.7%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	1,446	24	1.7%	4.9%	1
2021/22 (Autumn term)	1,450	26	1.8%	4.4%	1
2020/21 (Summer term)	1,444	29	2.0%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	1,444	3	0.2%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	1,446	30	2.1%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	1,416	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	1,416	17	1.2%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	1,414	13	0.9%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	1,382	11	0.8%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	1,388	27	1.9%	3.8%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	1,386	36	2.6%	3.8%	1
2017/18 (Summer term)	1,379	28	2.0%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	1,383	33	2.4%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	1,382	13	0.9%	3.7%	1
2016/17 (Summer term)	1,360	24	1.8%	3.0%	1
2016/17 (Spring term)	1,369	14	1.0%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	1,369	23	1.7%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 58 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 51 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 38 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 29 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 28 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 15 pupils

Hearing Impairment 3 pupils

Visual Impairment 3 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

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Sponne School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Secondary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in West Northamptonshire

Northampton School for Boys

Northampton School for Girls

Wootton Park School

Northampton Academy

Caroline Chisholm School

The Duston School