Alde Valley Academy
Seaward Avenue, Leiston, IP16 4BG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- KINGFISHER SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Lucie Hernandez
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Kingfisher Schools Trust Ltd
- Constituency
- Suffolk Coastal
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 560
- Pupils on roll
- 645
- URN
- 141236
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01728830570
About this school
Alde Valley Academy is a secondary academy in Leiston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 645 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Alde Valley Academy, 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 84 | 90 | 135 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.9 | 40.6 | 33.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.78 -1.08 to -0.47 | -0.33 -0.62 to -0.04 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 15% | 30% | 23.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 44% | 58.9% | 41.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 12.2% | 16.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 |
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 Alde Valley 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 | 35.9 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.6 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 33.7 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 586 |
| 2023/24 | 643 |
| 2024/25 | 674 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Alde Valley Academy compares
Alde Valley Academy ranked 42nd of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 33.7 | 9.9% | 30.6% | 645 | — |
| Leiston Primary School | — | 6.2% | 37.8% | 383 | 0.1 miles |
| Compass Community School Aylward Park | — | — | 0% | 9 | 0.4 miles |
| Summerhill School | — | — | 0% | 51 | 0.8 miles |
| Coldfair Green Community Primary School | — | 6.2% | 14.2% | 160 | 1.3 miles |
| Middleton Community Primary School | — | 5% | 26.3% | 16 | 3.7 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.
Inspection history
- 9 July 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report9 February 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.56%
- English as an additional language
- 4%
- Overall absence
- 9.93%
- Persistent absence
- 25.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leiston Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Leiston
-
Compass Community School Aylward Park0.4 miles
Special schools
-
Summerhill School0.8 miles
Independent schools · Leiston
-
Coldfair Green Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Saxmundham
-
Middleton Community Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Saxmundham
Other schools in Leiston
- Leiston Primary School Primary
- Summerhill School Independent schools
Recorded changes at this school
Previous headteacher: Headteacher Lucy Hernandez (until July 2026).
- Headteacher changed from Headteacher Lucy Hernandez to Lucie Hernandez recorded 17 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Alde Valley Academy teach?
- Alde Valley Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leiston.
- Who is the headteacher of Alde Valley Academy?
- The headteacher of Alde Valley Academy is Lucie Hernandez, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Alde Valley Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Alde Valley 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 many pupils are at Alde Valley Academy?
- Alde Valley Academy has 645 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Alde Valley Academy full?
- Alde Valley Academy has capacity for 560 pupils and 645 on roll (115%), 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 Alde Valley Academy a faith school?
- No. Alde Valley Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Alde Valley Academy a selective school?
- No. Alde Valley Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Alde Valley Academy part of an academy trust?
- Alde Valley Academy is part of KINGFISHER SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Alde Valley Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.9 in 2022/23 and 33.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Alde Valley Academy compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Alde Valley Academy ranked 42nd of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Alde Valley Academy's absence rate?
- Alde Valley Academy's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Alde Valley Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Alde Valley 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 17 July 2026.