Kesgrave High School
Main Road, Kesgrave, Ipswich, IP5 2PB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EAST ANGLIAN SCHOOLS TRUST LTD
- Headteacher
- Miss Julia Upton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- East Anglian Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,850
- Pupils on roll
- 1,875
- URN
- 136969
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01473624855
About this school
Kesgrave High School is a secondary academy in Ipswich. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,875 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Kesgrave High School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 | 306 | 307 | 307 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.9 | 50.6 | 49.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.10 -0.06 to +0.26 | +0.17 0.00 to +0.33 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 50.5% | 52.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 75.2% | 72% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 10.7% | 9.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
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 Kesgrave 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 | 47.9 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.6 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.7 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,875 |
| 2023/24 | 1,841 |
| 2024/25 | 1,858 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kesgrave High School compares
Kesgrave High School ranked 6th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.7 | 7.6% | 15.1% | 1,875 | — |
| St Alban's Catholic High School | 46.9 | 8.1% | 21.6% | 967 | 1.9 miles |
| Copleston High School | 46.9 | 8.5% | 19% | 1,930 | 2.3 miles |
| Northgate High School | 50.6 | 8.4% | 18.9% | 1,750 | 2.7 miles |
| Farlingaye High School | 43.8 | 10.2% | 18% | 1,861 | 3.5 miles |
| Ipswich Academy | 37.6 | 11.7% | 39.8% | 981 | 3.5 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)
- 15.11%
- English as an additional language
- 5.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.55%
- Persistent absence
- 19.26%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Alban's Catholic High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Copleston High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Northgate High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Farlingaye High School3.5 miles
Secondary · Woodbridge
-
Ipswich Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
Other schools in Ipswich
Kesgrave High School ranks 2nd of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Ipswich.
- Chantry Academy Secondary
- Claydon High School Secondary
- Copleston High School Secondary
- Hadleigh High School Secondary
- Holbrook Academy Secondary
- Ipswich Academy Secondary
- Northgate High School Secondary
- Ormiston Endeavour Academy Secondary
- St Alban's Catholic High School Secondary
- Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Westbourne Academy Secondary
- Highfield Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Kesgrave High School teach?
- Kesgrave High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ipswich.
- Who is the headteacher of Kesgrave High School?
- The headteacher of Kesgrave High School is Miss Julia Upton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Kesgrave High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kesgrave 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 many pupils are at Kesgrave High School?
- Kesgrave High School has 1,875 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Kesgrave High School full?
- Kesgrave High School has capacity for 1,850 pupils and 1,875 on roll (101%), 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 Kesgrave High School a faith school?
- No. Kesgrave High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Kesgrave High School a selective school?
- No. Kesgrave High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Kesgrave High School part of an academy trust?
- Kesgrave High School is part of EAST ANGLIAN SCHOOLS TRUST LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Kesgrave High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.9 in 2022/23 and 49.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kesgrave High School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Kesgrave High School ranked 6th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kesgrave High School's absence rate?
- Kesgrave High School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kesgrave High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kesgrave 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.