Acle Academy
South Walsham Road, Acle, Norwich, NR13 3ER
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE WENSUM TRUST
- Head of School
- Mrs Helen Watts
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Wensum Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Broadland and Fakenham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 711
- Pupils on roll
- 709
- URN
- 138758
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01493750431
About this school
Acle Academy is a secondary academy in Norwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 709 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
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 | 112 | 101 | 102 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.0 | 44.2 | 46.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.06 -0.32 to +0.20 | -0.08 -0.36 to +0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 43.6% | 47.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 66.3% | 66.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 34% | 30.7% | 32.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
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 Acle 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 | 45 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.2 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.9 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 578 |
| 2023/24 | 619 |
| 2024/25 | 685 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Acle Academy compares
Acle Academy ranked 18th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.9 | 10.6% | 25% | 709 | — |
| Flegg High Ormiston Academy | 42 | 10.8% | 23.5% | 648 | 6.4 miles |
| Broadland High Ormiston Academy | 46.8 | 8.8% | 21.1% | 725 | 7.4 miles |
| Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form | 49.2 | 7.9% | 16.1% | 1,830 | 7.8 miles |
| Caister Academy | 49.4 | 8.5% | 40.3% | 657 | 7.9 miles |
| Hobart High School | 46.1 | 9% | 22.8% | 673 | 8.0 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)
- 24.96%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 10.57%
- Persistent absence
- 27.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Flegg High Ormiston Academy6.4 miles
Secondary · Great Yarmouth
-
Broadland High Ormiston Academy7.4 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form7.8 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Caister Academy7.9 miles
Secondary · Great Yarmouth
-
Hobart High School8.0 miles
Secondary · Norwich
Other schools in Norwich
Acle Academy ranks 10th of the 22 ranked secondary schools in Norwich.
- Aylsham High School Secondary
- Broadland High Ormiston Academy Secondary
- City Academy Norwich Secondary
- City of Norwich School, An Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Framingham Earl High School Secondary
- Hellesdon High School Secondary
- Hethersett Academy Secondary
- Hewett Academy Secondary
- Hobart High School Secondary
- Jane Austen College Secondary
- Long Stratton High School Secondary
- Notre Dame High School, Norwich Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Acle Academy teach?
- Acle Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Norwich.
- Who is the head of school of Acle Academy?
- The head of school of Acle Academy is Mrs Helen Watts, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Acle Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Acle 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 Acle Academy?
- Acle Academy has 709 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Acle Academy full?
- Acle Academy has capacity for 711 pupils and 709 on roll (100%), 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 Acle Academy a faith school?
- No. Acle Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Acle Academy a selective school?
- No. Acle Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Acle Academy?
- Acle Academy is part of THE WENSUM TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Acle Academy have?
- The schools register lists Acle Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Acle Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45 in 2022/23 and 46.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Acle Academy rank locally?
- Acle Academy ranked 18th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Acle Academy's absence rate?
- Acle Academy's overall absence rate is 10.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Acle Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Acle 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.