Thomas Gainsborough School
Wells Hall Road, Great Cornard, Sudbury, CO10 0NH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Craig Lewis
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Unity Schools Partnership
- Constituency
- South Suffolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,603
- URN
- 141639
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01787375232
About this school
Thomas Gainsborough School is a secondary academy in Sudbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,603 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thomas Gainsborough School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 272 | 268 | 254 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.3 | 48.4 | 46.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 +0.11 to +0.45 | +0.21 +0.04 to +0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 51.5% | 45.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 71.6% | 65.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 25.4% | 54.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.2 | 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 Thomas Gainsborough 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 | 50.3 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.4 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,576 |
| 2023/24 | 1,584 |
| 2024/25 | 1,615 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thomas Gainsborough School compares
Thomas Gainsborough School ranked 13th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.1 | 8.3% | 20.2% | 1,603 | — |
| Ormiston Sudbury Academy | 39.6 | 8.3% | 34% | 710 | 1.8 miles |
| The Ramsey Academy, Halstead | 39.3 | 9.3% | 24.9% | 702 | 7.1 miles |
| Hedingham School and Sixth Form | 39.9 | 10.4% | 16% | 1,177 | 7.6 miles |
| Stour Valley Community School | 44.5 | 10.1% | 19.3% | 569 | 8.0 miles |
| Hadleigh High School | 43.6 | 9.6% | 22.7% | 712 | 9.0 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.15%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.34%
- Persistent absence
- 21.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ormiston Sudbury Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Sudbury
-
The Ramsey Academy, Halstead7.1 miles
Secondary · Halstead
-
Hedingham School and Sixth Form7.6 miles
Secondary · Halstead
-
Stour Valley Community School8.0 miles
Secondary · Sudbury
-
Hadleigh High School9.0 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
Other schools in Sudbury
- Ormiston Sudbury Academy Secondary
- Stour Valley Community School Secondary
- Acton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boxford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cavendish Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clare Community Primary School Primary
- Glemsford Primary Academy Primary
- Great Waldingfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Hundon Community Primary School Primary
- Lavenham Community Primary School Primary
- Long Melford Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Thomas Gainsborough School teach?
- Thomas Gainsborough School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sudbury.
- Who is the headteacher of Thomas Gainsborough School?
- The headteacher of Thomas Gainsborough School is Mr Craig Lewis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thomas Gainsborough School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thomas Gainsborough 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 Thomas Gainsborough School?
- Thomas Gainsborough School has 1,603 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Thomas Gainsborough School full?
- Thomas Gainsborough School has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,603 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 Thomas Gainsborough School a faith school?
- No. Thomas Gainsborough School has no designated religious character.
- Is Thomas Gainsborough School a selective school?
- No. Thomas Gainsborough School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Thomas Gainsborough School part of an academy trust?
- Thomas Gainsborough 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 Thomas Gainsborough School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.3 in 2022/23 and 46.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thomas Gainsborough School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- Thomas Gainsborough School ranked 13th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thomas Gainsborough School's absence rate?
- Thomas Gainsborough School's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thomas Gainsborough School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thomas Gainsborough 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.