Breckland School
Crown Street, Brandon, IP27 0PE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Principal
- Mr James Chapman
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Unity Schools Partnership
- Constituency
- West Suffolk
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 620
- Pupils on roll
- 615
- URN
- 138250
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01842819501
About this school
Breckland School is a secondary academy in Brandon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 615 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 108 | 108 | 104 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.8 | 38.0 | 42.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.01 -0.28 to +0.26 | -0.34 -0.61 to -0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 26.9% | 32.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 50% | 59.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 19% | 50% | 29.8% |
| 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 Breckland 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 | 42.8 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.4 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 566 |
| 2023/24 | 607 |
| 2024/25 | 613 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Breckland School compares
Breckland School ranked 26th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.4 | 9.8% | 24.6% | 615 | — |
| Iceni Secondary Academy | 39 | 11.3% | 24.4% | 555 | 6.3 miles |
| The Thetford Academy | 42.4 | 9.8% | 31.8% | 1,398 | 6.5 miles |
| Mildenhall College Academy | 37.4 | 8.1% | 24.7% | 1,317 | 7.5 miles |
| Wayland Academy | 52 | 5.6% | 25.7% | 564 | 12.7 miles |
| Ixworth High School | 44 | 9.3% | 22.9% | 512 | 13.9 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)
- 24.63%
- English as an additional language
- 10.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.75%
- Persistent absence
- 29.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Iceni Secondary Academy6.3 miles
Secondary · Thetford
-
The Thetford Academy6.5 miles
Secondary · Thetford
-
Mildenhall College Academy7.5 miles
Secondary · Mildenhall
-
Wayland Academy12.7 miles
Secondary · Thetford
-
Ixworth High School13.9 miles
Secondary · Ixworth
Other schools in Brandon
- Forest Academy Primary
- Glade Academy Primary
- Lakenheath Community Primary School Primary
- Weeting Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Breckland School teach?
- Breckland School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Brandon.
- Who is the principal of Breckland School?
- The principal of Breckland School is Mr James Chapman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Breckland School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Breckland 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 Breckland School?
- Breckland School has 615 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Breckland School full?
- Breckland School has capacity for 620 pupils and 615 on roll (99%), 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 Breckland School a faith school?
- No. Breckland School has no designated religious character.
- Is Breckland School a selective school?
- No. Breckland School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Breckland School?
- Breckland 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 Breckland School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.8 in 2022/23 and 42.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Breckland School rank locally?
- Breckland School ranked 26th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Breckland School's absence rate?
- Breckland School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Breckland School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Breckland 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.