SF School Facts UK

Special school in Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Athena School

South Park, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 8EL

School website 01522534559

Ofsted

Standards maintained at the last ungraded inspection, on 12 February 2025.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

Exam results

Special schools serve pupils whose needs the standard measures were not designed to describe, so results are not shown or ranked here.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
112
Places
115
How full
Nearly full — 112 of 115 places taken
Girls / boys
16 / 96
Overall absence
20%

England 5.8%

Persistently absent
45%

England 14.7% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
61%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
1%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
100%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
0%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
75%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
75%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
0%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
0%
No sustained destination
19%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
16

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Lincoln 006D, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
24%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
20%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
39%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
9%

England 17%

Households with no car
38%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
36%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Community special school
Phase
Special
Ages
Ages 11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Sixth form
No
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Michelle Bunn
Local authority
Lincolnshire
Ward
Park
Constituency
Lincoln
URN
131277

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest special schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
The Lincoln St Christopher's SchoolCommunity special school No grade 1.9 mi
The St Francis Special School, LincolnCommunity special school Outstanding 2022 2.1 mi
Fortuna SchoolCommunity special school Outstanding 2023 3 mi
Kisimul SchoolOther independent special school No grade 7.9 mi
Witham Prospect SchoolOther independent special school No grade 9.1 mi
Acacia SchoolOther independent special school No grade 10.2 mi

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.