Castle Academy - The School Companion

Castle Academy

West Northamptonshire · NN1 2TR

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 455 pupils, 20.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN SEN unit · 13% on SEN support Behaviour 4.5% absence rate Staff 16.2% turnover Financials £6,354 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Castle Academy

General Information

Address: St George's Street, Northampton, NN1 2TR – View on map
Phone: 01604346802
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Daniel Lugg
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 53 families put it first for 54 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 13 · 2025 11 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

455 pupils out of 420 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 83
% eligible for free school meals: 20.3%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the West Northamptonshire average)
English as an additional language: 75% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.2% a year (West Northamptonshire 16.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across West Northamptonshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 9 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in West Northamptonshire, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

SEN unit for Speech, language and communicationOther needs 10 places · 10 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 28 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 21 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card May 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 69% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 6 percentage points above the West Northamptonshire average (63%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 65% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 65%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 78% · Writing 81% · Maths 93% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 106
Based on: 58 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolWest Northamptonshire averageEngland↗ Improving Up 12 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 6 percentage points above the West Northamptonshire average (63%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 50th of 139 junior and primary schools in the area

=45Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School70%
=45Woodland View Primary School70%
=50Castle Academy69%
=50Clipston Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School69%
=50St James Church of England Primary School69%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Hartwell Primary School96%
#2Hackleton CofE Primary School94%
#3John Hellins Primary School93%
#4The Bramptons Primary School92%
#5Helmdon Primary School89%
=6Parklands Primary School87%
=6Pineham Barns Primary School87%
=6Yardley Hastings Primary School87%
#9West Haddon Endowed Church of England Primary School86%
=10Abington Vale Primary School83%
=10Silverstone Church of England Primary School83%
=10The Arbours Primary Academy83%
=13Eastfield Academy82%
=13The Bliss Charity School82%
#15Preston Hedges Primary School81%
=16Blisworth Community Primary School80%
=16Welton Church of England Academy80%
=16Weston Favell CofE Primary School80%
=19Blakesley Church of England Primary School79%
=19Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School79%
=21Brington Primary School78%
=21Greatworth Primary School78%
#23Duston Eldean Primary School77%
=24Brixworth CofE VC Primary School76%
=24Wootton Park School76%
#26Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School75%
=27Kislingbury Primary School74%
=27Long Buckby Junior School74%
=27Walgrave Primary School74%
=30Ashby Fields Primary School73%
=30Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery73%
=30Bridgewater Primary School73%
=30Cedar Road Primary School73%
=30East Haddon Church of England Primary School73%
=30Flore Church of England Primary School73%
=30Guilsborough Church of England Primary School73%
=30Staverton Church of England Voluntary Primary School73%
=38Caroline Chisholm School72%
=38St Luke's Church of England Primary School72%
=38The Abbey Primary School72%
=38The Duston School72%
=42Kings Heath Primary Academy71%
=42Pitsford Primary School71%
=42Towcester Church of England Primary School71%
=45Ecton Brook Primary School70%
=45Lumbertubs Primary School70%
=45Roade Primary School70%
=45Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School70%
=45Woodland View Primary School70%
=50Castle Academy69%
=50Clipston Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School69%
=50St James Church of England Primary School69%
=53Blackthorn Primary School68%
=53Harpole Primary School68%
=53Thorplands Primary School68%
=53Wootton Primary School68%
=57Barby Church of England Primary School67%
=57Byfield School67%
=57Cogenhoe Primary School67%
=57Maidwell Primary School67%
=57Simon de Senlis Primary School67%
=62Moulton Primary School66%
=62Queen Eleanor Primary Academy66%
=62Standens Barn Primary School66%
=65Croughton All Saints CofE Primary School64%
=65Greens Norton Church of England Primary School64%
=65Old Stratford Primary School64%
=68Bracken Leas Primary School63%
=68East Hunsbury Primary School63%
=68Gayton Church of England Primary School63%
=68Overstone Primary School63%
=68St Gregory's Catholic Primary School63%
=68Welford Sibbertoft and Sulby Endowed School63%
=74Collingtree Church of England Primary School62%
=74Spring Lane Primary School62%
=74Whitehills Primary School62%
=74Woodford Halse Church of England Primary Academy62%
=78Middleton Cheney Primary Academy61%
=78Millway Primary School61%
=80Headlands Primary School60%
=80Spratton Church of England Primary School60%
=80St Andrew's Ceva Primary School60%
#83Vernon Terrace Primary School59%
=84Barry Primary School58%
=84Hopping Hill Primary School58%
=84Stimpson Avenue Academy58%
=84The Radstone Primary School58%
=84Yelvertoft Primary School58%
=89Badby School57%
=89Boughton Primary School57%
=89Deanshanger Primary School57%
=89Kings Sutton Primary Academy57%
=89The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School57%
=89Upton Meadows Primary School57%
=95Abbey CofE Academy56%
=95Bugbrooke Community Primary School56%
=95Earl Spencer Primary School56%
=95Hardingstone Academy56%
=95Little Houghton Church of England Primary56%
=100Harlestone Primary School55%
=100Newnham Primary School55%
=102Boothville Primary School54%
=102Denton Primary School54%
=102Falconer's Hill Academy54%
=102Kilsby Church of England Primary School54%
=106All Saints CofE VA Primary School53%
=106Brackley Church of England Junior School53%
=106Green Oaks Primary Academy53%
=106Kingsthorpe Village Primary School53%
=106Sunnyside Primary Academy53%
=106Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School53%
#112St Mary's Catholic Primary School52%
=113Kingsley Primary School51%
=113Lings Primary School51%
=113Northampton International Academy51%
=113Woodvale Primary Academy51%
=117Rothersthorpe Church of England Primary School50%
=117Stoke Bruerne Church of England Primary School50%
=119Chiltern Primary School49%
=119Delapre Primary School49%
#121Braunston Church of England Primary School47%
#122DSLV E-ACT Academy46%
=123Lyncrest Primary School45%
=123Rectory Farm Primary School45%
#125Cosgrove Village Primary School44%
#126Ashton CofE Primary School43%
#127Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School42%
#128Crick Primary School39%
#129Pattishall Church of England Primary School38%
=130Chipping Warden Primary Academy33%
=130Culworth Church of England Primary Academy33%
=130E-ACT The Grange School33%
=130Paulerspury Church of England Primary School33%
=130Syresham St James CofE Primary School and Nursery33%
#135Weedon Bec Primary School30%
=136Milton Parochial Primary School29%
=136St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls29%
#138Newbottle and Charlton Church of England Primary School9%
#139Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy8%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,354 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

82nd of 138 primary schools in West Northamptonshire for spending per pupil

#80Helmdon Primary School£6,361
#81Hopping Hill Primary School£6,356
#82Castle Academy£6,354
#83Duston Eldean Primary School£6,348
#84Kingsthorpe Village Primary School£6,347

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Naseby Church of England Primary Academy£12,949
#2Cosgrove Village Primary School£12,816
#3Spratton Church of England Primary School£11,560
#4Farthinghoe Primary School£11,472
#5Boddington Church of England Primary Academy£11,347
#6Kings Sutton Primary Academy£11,056
#7Collingtree Church of England Primary School£10,898
#8Ashton CofE Primary School£10,820
#9Brington Primary School£10,521
#10Flore Church of England Primary School£9,620
#11Chacombe CEVA Primary Academy£9,488
#12Whittlebury Church of England Primary School£9,403
#13Gayton Church of England Primary School£9,202
#14Vernon Terrace Primary School£9,102
#15Milton Parochial Primary School£9,018
#16Blackthorn Primary School£8,909
#17Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,881
#18Maidwell Primary School£8,640
#19Byfield School£8,639
#20Headlands Primary School£8,639
#21Harlestone Primary School£8,547
#22Greatworth Primary School£8,467
#23Yardley Gobion Church of England Primary School£8,353
#24Denton Primary School£8,294
#25Roade Primary School£8,195
#26Culworth Church of England Primary Academy£8,154
#27Chiltern Primary School£8,148
#28Newnham Primary School£8,085
#29Welford Sibbertoft and Sulby Endowed School£8,071
#30Queen Eleanor Primary Academy£7,981
#31Little Houghton Church of England Primary£7,906
#32East Hunsbury Primary School£7,864
#33Newbottle and Charlton Church of England Primary School£7,799
#34Clipston Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School£7,797
#35Yelvertoft Primary School£7,751
#36Thorplands Primary School£7,696
#37Paulerspury Church of England Primary School£7,672
#38Stoke Bruerne Church of England Primary School£7,599
#39Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School£7,540
#40The Bramptons Primary School£7,526
#41Croughton All Saints CofE Primary School£7,419
#42Blakesley Church of England Primary School£7,402
#43East Haddon Church of England Primary School£7,384
#44Green Oaks Primary Academy£7,373
#45Pitsford Primary School£7,362
#46Rectory Farm Primary School£7,200
#47St James Church of England Primary School£7,163
#48Earl Spencer Primary School£7,139
#49John Hellins Primary School£7,101
#50Spring Lane Primary School£7,097
#51Lumbertubs Primary School£7,088
#52Ecton Brook Primary School£7,065
#53Guilsborough Church of England Primary School£7,060
#54Staverton Church of England Voluntary Primary School£7,044
#55St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Aston-le-Walls£7,021
#56Upton Meadows Primary School£7,005
#57Barby Church of England Primary School£7,000
#58Greens Norton Church of England Primary School£7,000
#59Walgrave Primary School£6,970
#60Simon de Senlis Primary School£6,927
#61Chipping Warden Primary Academy£6,890
#62Pattishall Church of England Primary School£6,887
#63Syresham St James CofE Primary School and Nursery£6,882
#64Towcester Church of England Primary School£6,867
#65St Mary's Catholic Primary School£6,818
#66Lings Primary School£6,782
#67Kislingbury Primary School£6,746
#68Abington Vale Primary School£6,671
#69Millway Primary School£6,655
#70Marie Weller Primary School£6,635
#71Bugbrooke Community Primary School£6,579
#72Rothersthorpe Church of England Primary School£6,515
#73Yardley Hastings Primary School£6,490
#74Lyncrest Primary School£6,481
#75St Andrew's Ceva Primary School£6,468
#76Briar Hill Primary School & Nursery£6,465
#77Woodvale Primary Academy£6,406
#78Old Stratford Primary School£6,369
#79Hardingstone Academy£6,362
#80Helmdon Primary School£6,361
#81Hopping Hill Primary School£6,356
#82Castle Academy£6,354
#83Duston Eldean Primary School£6,348
#84Kingsthorpe Village Primary School£6,347
#85Woodford Halse Church of England Primary Academy£6,344
#86Delapre Primary School£6,327
#87Wootton Primary School£6,321
#88Kings Heath Primary Academy£6,312
#89Boothville Primary School£6,289
#90St James Infant School£6,286
#91Harpole Primary School£6,252
#92Eastfield Academy£6,243
#93Braunston Church of England Primary School£6,242
#94Crick Primary School£6,215
#95Blisworth Community Primary School£6,215
#96The Bliss Charity School£6,207
#97Whitehills Primary School£6,189
#98Bridgewater Primary School£6,178
#99The Abbey Primary School£6,160
#100St Gregory's Catholic Primary School£6,135
#101Silverstone Church of England Primary School£6,122
#102The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School£6,108
#103Standens Barn Primary School£6,037
#104Buckton Fields Primary School£6,036
#105St Luke's Church of England Primary School£5,970
#106Brixworth CofE VC Primary School£5,931
#107Sunnyside Primary Academy£5,925
#108Deanshanger Primary School£5,885
#109Weedon Bec Primary School£5,881
#110All Saints CofE VA Primary School£5,873
#111Cogenhoe Primary School£5,867
#112Barry Primary School£5,856
#113West Haddon Endowed Church of England Primary School£5,841
#114Kilsby Church of England Primary School£5,801
#115Woodland View Primary School£5,779
#116E-ACT The Grange School£5,770
#117Badby School£5,762
#118Welton Church of England Academy£5,680
#119Boughton Primary School£5,651
#120The Arbours Primary Academy£5,596
#121Kingsley Primary School£5,574
#122Hackleton CofE Primary School£5,557
#123Overstone Primary School£5,511
#124Hartwell Primary School£5,495
#125Moulton Primary School£5,442
#126Bracken Leas Primary School£5,294
#127Stimpson Avenue Academy£5,285
#128Parklands Primary School£5,268
#129Ashby Fields Primary School£5,177
#130Pineham Barns Primary School£5,159
#131Cedar Road Primary School£5,152
#132Middleton Cheney Primary Academy£5,106
#133Preston Hedges Primary School£5,005
#134Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary School£4,962
#135Weston Favell CofE Primary School£4,908
#136Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School£4,719
#137The Radstone Primary School£4,713
#138Monksmoor Park Church of England Primary School£2,987

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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