The Open Academy
Salhouse Road, Norwich, NR7 9DL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH EDUCATION AND ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Daniel Bagshaw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Norwich
- Sponsor
- The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Norwich North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 529
- URN
- 135650
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01603481640
About this school
The Open Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Norwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 529 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Open Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 104 | 101 | 104 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.3 | 34.9 | 36.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.58 -0.86 to -0.31 | -0.46 -0.74 to -0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22% | 20.8% | 34.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 52.5% | 51% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71% | 71.3% | 64.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Open Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35.3 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.9 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.7 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 601 |
| 2023/24 | 578 |
| 2024/25 | 560 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Open Academy compares
The Open Academy ranked 51st of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.7 | 12.4% | 40% | 529 | — |
| Sprowston Community Academy | 45 | 11.4% | 22.1% | 1,702 | 0.5 miles |
| Sewell Park Academy | 39.1 | 10.3% | 41.4% | 775 | 1.2 miles |
| Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form | 49.2 | 7.9% | 16.1% | 1,830 | 1.4 miles |
| Jane Austen College | 53.7 | 6.9% | 29.3% | 1,085 | 1.6 miles |
| Notre Dame High School, Norwich | 61.3 | 5.5% | 14.3% | 1,613 | 1.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.96%
- English as an additional language
- 12.9%
- Overall absence
- 12.36%
- Persistent absence
- 32.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sprowston Community Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Sewell Park Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form1.4 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Jane Austen College1.6 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Notre Dame High School, Norwich1.9 miles
Secondary · Norwich
Other schools in Norwich
The Open Academy ranks 21st of the 22 ranked secondary schools in Norwich.
- Acle Academy Secondary
- Aylsham High School Secondary
- Broadland High Ormiston Academy Secondary
- City Academy Norwich Secondary
- City of Norwich School, An Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Framingham Earl High School Secondary
- Hellesdon High School Secondary
- Hethersett Academy Secondary
- Hewett Academy Secondary
- Hobart High School Secondary
- Jane Austen College Secondary
- Long Stratton High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Open Academy teach?
- The Open Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Norwich.
- Who is the principal of The Open Academy?
- The principal of The Open Academy is Mr Daniel Bagshaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Open Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Open Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Open Academy?
- The Open Academy has 529 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Open Academy full?
- The Open Academy has capacity for 750 pupils and 529 on roll (71%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Open Academy a faith school?
- Yes. The Open Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Norwich.
- Is The Open Academy a selective school?
- No. The Open Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Open Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Open Academy is part of THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH EDUCATION AND ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Open Academy have?
- The schools register lists The Open Academy's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Open Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.3 in 2022/23 and 36.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Open Academy compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- The Open Academy ranked 51st of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Open Academy's absence rate?
- The Open Academy's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Open Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Open Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.