Holbrook Academy
Ipswich Road, Holbrook, Ipswich, IP9 2QX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EAST ANGLIAN SCHOOLS TRUST LTD
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Elliott
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- East Anglian Schools Trust
- Constituency
- South Suffolk
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 584
- URN
- 137208
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01473328317
About this school
Holbrook Academy is a secondary academy in Ipswich. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 584 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 116 | 116 | 117 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.3 | 38.4 | 41.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.28 -0.54 to -0.02 | -0.61 -0.87 to -0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 31.9% | 34.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 50% | 59.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 32.8% | 34.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
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 Holbrook 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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.3 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.4 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.2 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 586 |
| 2023/24 | 580 |
| 2024/25 | 593 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holbrook Academy compares
Holbrook Academy ranked 28th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.2 | 8.4% | 23.6% | 584 | — |
| Ipswich Academy | 37.6 | 11.7% | 39.8% | 981 | 3.1 miles |
| Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy | 34.3 | 11.3% | 40.6% | 811 | 3.8 miles |
| Chantry Academy | 33.9 | 8.1% | 38.4% | 1,006 | 4.0 miles |
| Copleston High School | 46.9 | 8.5% | 19% | 1,930 | 4.8 miles |
| St Alban's Catholic High School | 46.9 | 8.1% | 21.6% | 967 | 5.5 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)
- 23.61%
- English as an additional language
- 8.4%
- Overall absence
- 8.36%
- Persistent absence
- 26.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ipswich Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy3.8 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Chantry Academy4.0 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Copleston High School4.8 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
St Alban's Catholic High School5.5 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
Other schools in Ipswich
Holbrook Academy ranks 8th of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Ipswich.
- Chantry Academy Secondary
- Claydon High School Secondary
- Copleston High School Secondary
- Hadleigh High School Secondary
- Ipswich Academy Secondary
- Kesgrave High School 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 year groups does Holbrook Academy teach?
- Holbrook Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ipswich.
- Who is the headteacher of Holbrook Academy?
- The headteacher of Holbrook Academy is Mrs Claire Elliott, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Holbrook Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holbrook 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 big is Holbrook Academy?
- Holbrook Academy has 584 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Holbrook Academy full?
- Holbrook Academy has capacity for 600 pupils and 584 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Holbrook Academy a faith school?
- No. Holbrook Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Holbrook Academy a selective school?
- No. Holbrook Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Holbrook Academy?
- Holbrook Academy 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 Holbrook Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.3 in 2022/23 and 41.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holbrook Academy rank locally?
- Holbrook Academy ranked 28th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holbrook Academy's absence rate?
- Holbrook Academy's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holbrook Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holbrook 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.