Debenham High School
Gracechurch Street, Debenham, Stowmarket, IP14 6BL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- HEART OF SUFFOLK EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Martin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
- Constituency
- Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 625
- Pupils on roll
- 714
- URN
- 136416
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01728860213
About this school
Debenham High School is a Church of England secondary academy in Stowmarket. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 714 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 135 | 140 | 138 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.6 | 55.4 | 55.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.71 +0.47 to +0.96 | +0.76 +0.53 to +1.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 59.3% | 68.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 84% | 83.6% | 84.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 19.3% | 26.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
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 Debenham High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55.6 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.4 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.7 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 681 |
| 2023/24 | 687 |
| 2024/25 | 699 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Debenham High School compares
Debenham High School ranked 1st of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.7 | 6.7% | 13.5% | 714 | — |
| Stowupland High School | 41.1 | 10.3% | 27.4% | 846 | 6.4 miles |
| Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form | 48.4 | 8.2% | 18.6% | 1,056 | 6.7 miles |
| Hartismere School | 53 | 7.4% | 13.3% | 1,062 | 7.0 miles |
| Stradbroke High School | 44.3 | 8.3% | 21.5% | 353 | 7.6 miles |
| Stowmarket High School | 40.5 | 7.6% | 21.8% | 901 | 8.4 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)
- 13.45%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- Overall absence
- 6.72%
- Persistent absence
- 16.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stowupland High School6.4 miles
Secondary · Stowmarket
-
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form6.7 miles
Secondary · Woodbridge
-
Hartismere School7.0 miles
Secondary · Eye
-
Stradbroke High School7.6 miles
Secondary · Eye
-
Stowmarket High School8.4 miles
Secondary · Stowmarket
Other schools in Stowmarket
- Stowmarket High School Secondary
- Stowupland High School Secondary
- Abbot's Hall Community Primary School Primary
- Bacton Primary School Primary
- Cedars Park Community Primary School Primary
- Chilton Community Primary School Primary
- Combs Ford Primary School Primary
- Crawford's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Freeman Community Primary School Primary
- Grace Cook Primary School Primary
- Great Finborough Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Helmingham Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Debenham High School teach?
- Debenham High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Stowmarket.
- Who is the headteacher of Debenham High School?
- The headteacher of Debenham High School is Mr Simon Martin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Debenham High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Debenham High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Debenham High School?
- Debenham High School has 714 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Debenham High School full?
- Debenham High School has capacity for 625 pupils and 714 on roll (114%), so it is at or above 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 Debenham High School a faith school?
- Yes. Debenham High School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
- Is Debenham High School a selective school?
- No. Debenham High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Debenham High School?
- Debenham High School is part of HEART OF SUFFOLK EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Debenham High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.6 in 2022/23 and 55.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Debenham High School rank locally?
- Debenham High School ranked 1st of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Debenham High School's absence rate?
- Debenham High School's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Debenham High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Debenham High School'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.