Great Heath Academy
Girton Close, Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds, IP28 7PT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ACADEMY TRANSFORMATION TRUST
- Principal
- Emily Mitchinson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Academy Transformation Trust
- Constituency
- West Suffolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 438
- URN
- 142027
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01638713430
About this school
Great Heath Academy is a primary academy in Bury St Edmunds. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 438 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
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 82 | 81 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 43% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 72% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 60% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 57% | 64% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Great Heath 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 | 46% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 583 |
| 2023/24 | 522 |
| 2024/25 | 469 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Great Heath Academy compares
Great Heath Academy ranked 150th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 4.4% | 20.5% | 438 | — |
| St Mary's Church of England Academy | 31% | 5.8% | 20% | 414 | 0.3 miles |
| Beck Row Primary Academy | 71% | 4.8% | 25.1% | 243 | 1.6 miles |
| West Row Academy | 67% | 5.2% | 15.4% | 208 | 2.5 miles |
| The Pines Primary School | 61% | 4.2% | 8.4% | 240 | 2.9 miles |
| St Christopher's CEVCP School | 77% | 6.1% | 18.2% | 389 | 3.4 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)
- 20.54%
- English as an additional language
- 11.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.41%
- Persistent absence
- 9.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Church of England Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
Beck Row Primary Academy1.6 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
-
West Row Academy2.5 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
The Pines Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Bury St. Edmunds
-
St Christopher's CEVCP School3.4 miles
Primary · Bury St Edmunds
Other schools in Bury St Edmunds
Great Heath Academy ranks 16th of the 26 ranked primary schools in Bury St Edmunds.
- Abbots Green Primary Academy Primary
- All Saints' Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Lawshall Primary
- Bardwell Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Beck Row Primary Academy Primary
- Cockfield Church of England Primary School Primary
- Elmswell Community Primary School Primary
- Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School Primary
- Hardwick Primary School Primary
- Hartest Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Great Heath Academy teach?
- Great Heath Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bury St Edmunds.
- Who is the principal of Great Heath Academy?
- The principal of Great Heath Academy is Emily Mitchinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Great Heath Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Great Heath 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 Great Heath Academy?
- Great Heath Academy has 438 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Great Heath Academy full?
- Great Heath Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 438 on roll (104%), 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 Great Heath Academy a faith school?
- No. Great Heath Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Great Heath Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Great Heath Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Great Heath Academy?
- Great Heath Academy is part of ACADEMY TRANSFORMATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Great Heath Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Great Heath Academy rank locally?
- Great Heath Academy ranked 150th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Great Heath Academy's absence rate?
- Great Heath Academy's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Great Heath Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Great Heath 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 2 July 2026.