The Lacon Childe School
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The Lacon Childe School is a converter academy in Kidderminster for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 563 pupils, 23 more than it has places for. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 17 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 12% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.
Love Lane, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, DY14 8PE01299 270312lacon-childe.org.ukMr Stuart Weston headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 8 March 2023 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
91 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Shropshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 91 | 103 | 112 | 118 | 89 | 110 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 45.8 | 45.1 | 45.5 | 54.6 | 51.1 | 46.5 | 43.1 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.28 | -0.12 | +0.28 | +0.15 | -0.03 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 40% | 44% | 35% | 64% | 47% | 40% | 37% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 64% | 64% | 68% | 82% | 79% | 64% | 60% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.99 | 3.84 | 3.80 | 4.70 | 4.36 | 4.06 | 3.76 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 23% | 27% | 11% | 26% | 24% | 33% | 33% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 32.3 | 35.8 | 31.1 | 44.4 | 43.3 | 39.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 48.7 | 46.5 | 47.9 | 57.0 | 53.4 | 48.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 30.3 | 32.7 | 31.6 | 23.1 | 19.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 57.9 | 63.3 | 69.8 | 61.9 | 60.2 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 17 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Art and Design (38% here, 58% across England), Food Preparation & Nutrition (33% here, 52% across England), Combined Science (23% here, 36% across England), English Literature (46% here, 58% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 91 | 14% | 50% | 73% | 53% | 1,724 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 91 | 12% | 45% | 66% | 54% | 2,196 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 90 | 11% | 46% | 71% | 58% | 2,348 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 73 | 1% | 23% | 52% | 36% | 2,389 of 3,084 |
| Geography | 62 | 16% | 44% | 58% | 51% | 1,856 of 3,116 |
| History | 57 | 32% | 58% | 68% | 52% | 1,053 of 3,126 |
| Art and Design | 42 | 10% | 38% | 57% | 58% | 2,298 of 2,818 |
| Design & Technology | 30 | 13% | 43% | 60% | 50% | 851 of 1,478 |
| French | 23 | 26% | 70% | 78% | 60% | 736 of 1,974 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 18 | 11% | 33% | 67% | 52% | – |
| Drama | 18 | 11% | 50% | 83% | 60% | – |
| Chemistry | 17 | 71% | 94% | 100% | 81% | – |
| Biology | 17 | 65% | 88% | 100% | 82% | – |
| Physics | 17 | 53% | 82% | 100% | 82% | – |
| Religious Studies | 13 | 39% | 62% | 77% | 60% | – |
| Physical Education | 12 | 0% | 42% | 58% | 56% | – |
| Music | 7 | 14% | 29% | 29% | 61% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have fallen by 5% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (103 offers for 108 places).
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 108 | 96 | 154 | 103 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 108 | 108 | 164 | 116 | 15.3 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 108 | 111 | 184 | 108 | 4.7 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 16 pupils, for autism, moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Shropshire with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (31), Specific learning difficulty (28), language and communications needs (12), Moderate learning difficulty (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (5), Hearing impairment (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 563 | 538 | 548 | 543 | 556 | 566 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 24% | 22% | 19% | 17% | 15% | 13% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 9% | 11% | 11% | 5% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 5% | 6% | 5% | 5% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.5% | 9.0% | 9.1% | 10.6% | 7.1% | 5.0% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.0% | 7.5% | 7.5% | 8.6% | 6.4% | 4.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 25.5% | 28.3% | 27.9% | 32.4% | 18.4% | 11.9% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 13.0 | 35.8 | 33.0 | 11.5 | 13.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 112 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 69%, compared with 92% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 88% | 98% | 94% | 94% |
| Education | 84% | 86% | 86% | 86% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 7% | 4% | 4% |
| Work | 1% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| Not in education, work or training | 5% | 2% | 6% | 5% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
No other schools of this phase within 8 km.
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Lacon Childe School with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than The Lacon Childe School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth High School | Academy | 13.6 miles | 421 | Good 2023 | 36 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 17 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 17% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 12 to 24. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | -0.03 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 91 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | well below | -0.43 | Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | below | -0.07 | DfE progress measure; 91 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.07 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | +0.02 | 2024/25; 562 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | in line | -0.02 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 91 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | below | -0.02 | 112 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is The Lacon Childe School a good school?
The figures are weak. The Lacon Childe School scores 17 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 12% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 12 to 24, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is The Lacon Childe School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Lacon Childe School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 11 June 2024.
How good are The Lacon Childe School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 40% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 45.8, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about half a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The Lacon Childe School have?
563 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 540 places, so it is 104% full.
Is The Lacon Childe School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at The Lacon Childe School?
Pupils were in school 92.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Lacon Childe School?
The average class had 22.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Lacon Childe School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism, moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does The Lacon Childe School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 88% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Love Lane, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, DY14 8PE
- Telephone
- 01299 270312
- Website
- www.lacon-childe.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Stuart Weston
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Four Stones Gateway Trust (7 schools)
- Local authority
- Shropshire
- Ward
- Cleobury Mortimer
- Constituency
- South Shropshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 October 2014 (academy converter)
- URN
- 141451 · LAESTAB 8934412 · UKPRN 10047648
- Formerly
- The Lacon Childe School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Shropshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.