Southery Academy
Westgate Street, Southery, Downham Market, PE38 0PA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EASTERN MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Elaine Huntington
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Eastern Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- South West Norfolk
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 98
- Pupils on roll
- 83
- URN
- 142468
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01366377205
About this school
Southery Academy is a primary academy in Downham Market. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 83 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
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
- 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 | 9 | 17 | 13 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 41% | 46% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 53% | 54% |
| Expected standard in maths | 56% | 71% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 47% | 54% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Southery 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 | 44% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 46% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 90 |
| 2023/24 | 93 |
| 2024/25 | 83 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southery Academy compares
Southery Academy ranked 204th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46% | 4% | 30.1% | 83 | — |
| Hilgay Riverside Academy | 60% | 5.6% | 33.8% | 75 | 2.3 miles |
| Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 76% | 4.6% | 20.4% | 108 | 4.5 miles |
| Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School | 71% | 4.9% | 21.4% | 404 | 5.6 miles |
| Nelson Academy | 63% | 6.5% | 35% | 386 | 5.7 miles |
| All Saints Academy | 93% | 4% | 26% | 97 | 5.9 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)
- 30.12%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.95%
- Persistent absence
- 6.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hilgay Riverside Academy2.3 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School4.5 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School5.6 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
Nelson Academy5.7 miles
Primary · Downham Market
-
All Saints Academy5.9 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
Other schools in Downham Market
Southery Academy ranks 5th of the 5 ranked primary schools in Downham Market.
- Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Downham Market, Hillcrest Primary School Primary
- Hilgay Riverside Academy Primary
- Nelson Academy Primary
- Downham Market Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Southery Academy teach?
- Southery Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Downham Market.
- Who is the headteacher of Southery Academy?
- The headteacher of Southery Academy is Mrs Elaine Huntington, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Southery Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southery 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 Southery Academy?
- Southery Academy has 83 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Southery Academy full?
- Southery Academy has capacity for 98 pupils and 83 on roll (85%), so it has space against 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 Southery Academy a faith school?
- No. Southery Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Southery Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Southery Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Southery Academy?
- Southery Academy is part of EASTERN MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Southery Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 46% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Southery Academy rank locally?
- Southery Academy ranked 204th of 266 primary schools in Norfolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southery Academy's absence rate?
- Southery Academy's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southery Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southery 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.