Felixstowe School
High Street, Felixstowe, IP11 9QR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Principal
- Mrs Emma Wilson-Downes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Unity Schools Partnership
- Constituency
- Suffolk Coastal
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,169
- URN
- 137321
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01394288228
About this school
Felixstowe School is a secondary academy in Felixstowe. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,169 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Felixstowe School, 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 | 205 | 202 | 231 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.1 | 35.8 | 38.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.45 -0.65 to -0.25 | -0.48 -0.67 to -0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 25.7% | 26.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 49.5% | 48.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 15.8% | 34.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
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 Felixstowe 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 | 39.1 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.8 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.5 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,228 |
| 2023/24 | 1,245 |
| 2024/25 | 1,211 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Felixstowe School compares
Felixstowe School ranked 36th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.5 | 12.1% | 26.9% | 1,169 | — |
| Harwich and Dovercourt High School | 37.6 | 10.9% | 42.5% | 1,075 | 4.2 miles |
| Ipswich Academy | 37.6 | 11.7% | 39.8% | 981 | 7.3 miles |
| Kesgrave High School | 49.7 | 7.6% | 15.1% | 1,875 | 7.5 miles |
| Holbrook Academy | 41.2 | 8.4% | 23.6% | 584 | 7.5 miles |
| Copleston High School | 46.9 | 8.5% | 19% | 1,930 | 8.1 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)
- 26.94%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 12.14%
- Persistent absence
- 33.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harwich and Dovercourt High School4.2 miles
Secondary · Harwich
-
Ipswich Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Kesgrave High School7.5 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Holbrook Academy7.5 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Copleston High School8.1 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
Other schools in Felixstowe
- Colneis Junior School Primary
- Fairfield Infant School Primary
- Felix Primary School Primary
- Grange Community Primary School Primary
- Kingsfleet Primary School Primary
- Langer Primary Academy Primary
- Trimley St Martin Primary School Primary
- Trimley St Mary Primary School Primary
- Felixstowe International College Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Felixstowe School teach?
- Felixstowe School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Felixstowe.
- Who is the principal of Felixstowe School?
- The principal of Felixstowe School is Mrs Emma Wilson-Downes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Felixstowe School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Felixstowe 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 Felixstowe School?
- Felixstowe School has 1,169 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Felixstowe School full?
- Felixstowe School has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,169 on roll (78%), 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 Felixstowe School a faith school?
- No. Felixstowe School has no designated religious character.
- Is Felixstowe School a selective school?
- No. Felixstowe School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Felixstowe School part of an academy trust?
- Felixstowe School is part of UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Felixstowe School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.1 in 2022/23 and 38.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Felixstowe School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Felixstowe School ranked 36th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Felixstowe School's absence rate?
- Felixstowe School's overall absence rate is 12.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Felixstowe School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Felixstowe 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.