Wayland Academy
Merton Road, Watton, Thetford, IP25 6BA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INSPIRATION TRUST
- Principal
- Ms Lucy Austin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Inspiration Trust
- Constituency
- Mid Norfolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 564
- URN
- 137949
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01953881514
About this school
Wayland Academy is a secondary academy in Thetford. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 564 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- 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 | 102 | 106 | 106 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.7 | 45.3 | 52.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 0.00 to +0.56 | +0.61 +0.33 to +0.89 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 48.1% | 63.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 63.2% | 79.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 61% | 48.1% | 57.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
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 Wayland 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 | 44.7 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.3 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 576 |
| 2023/24 | 569 |
| 2024/25 | 548 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wayland Academy compares
Wayland Academy ranked 6th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52 | 5.6% | 25.7% | 564 | — |
| The Nicholas Hamond Academy | 38.4 | 9.2% | 30.9% | 710 | 7.6 miles |
| Attleborough Academy | 41.4 | 7.7% | 21.2% | 976 | 8.8 miles |
| Dereham Neatherd High School | 47.4 | 9.7% | 20.5% | 1,079 | 9.6 miles |
| Northgate High School | 41 | 8.3% | 27.5% | 1,203 | 9.8 miles |
| Wymondham College | 56.4 | 5.9% | 10.2% | 1,427 | 9.9 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)
- 25.73%
- English as an additional language
- 21%
- Overall absence
- 5.62%
- Persistent absence
- 12.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Nicholas Hamond Academy7.6 miles
Secondary · Swaffham
-
Attleborough Academy8.8 miles
Secondary · Attleborough
-
Dereham Neatherd High School9.6 miles
Secondary · Dereham
-
Northgate High School9.8 miles
Secondary · Dereham
-
Wymondham College9.9 miles
Secondary · Wymondham
Other schools in Thetford
- Iceni Secondary Academy Secondary
- The Thetford Academy Secondary
- Admirals Academy Primary
- Ashill Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary School Primary
- Duchy of Lancaster Methwold CofE Primary School Primary
- Edmund de Moundeford VC Primary School, Feltwell Primary
- Elveden Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Norwich Road Academy Primary
- Parker's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Queensway Infant Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Wayland Academy teach?
- Wayland Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Thetford.
- Who is the principal of Wayland Academy?
- The principal of Wayland Academy is Ms Lucy Austin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wayland Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wayland 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 Wayland Academy?
- Wayland Academy has 564 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Wayland Academy full?
- Wayland Academy has capacity for 750 pupils and 564 on roll (75%), 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 Wayland Academy a faith school?
- No. Wayland Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Wayland Academy a selective school?
- No. Wayland Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Wayland Academy?
- Wayland Academy is part of INSPIRATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Wayland Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.7 in 2022/23 and 52 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wayland Academy rank locally?
- Wayland Academy ranked 6th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wayland Academy's absence rate?
- Wayland Academy's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wayland Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wayland 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.