Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form
Laundry Lane, Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, NR7 0XS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BROAD HORIZONS EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Penny Bignell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Broad Horizons Education Trust
- Constituency
- Norwich North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,892
- Pupils on roll
- 1,830
- URN
- 143278
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01603497711
About this school
Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is a secondary academy in Norwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,830 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 289 | 277 | 297 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.4 | 49.4 | 49.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.09 to +0.42 | +0.14 -0.03 to +0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 52.3% | 50.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 71.8% | 70.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 34% | 40.8% | 48.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
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 Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form 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 | 52.4 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.4 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.2 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,839 |
| 2023/24 | 1,804 |
| 2024/25 | 1,834 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form compares
Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form ranked 12th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.2 | 7.9% | 16.1% | 1,830 | — |
| The Open Academy | 36.7 | 12.4% | 40% | 529 | 1.4 miles |
| Sprowston Community Academy | 45 | 11.4% | 22.1% | 1,702 | 1.7 miles |
| Sewell Park Academy | 39.1 | 10.3% | 41.4% | 775 | 2.5 miles |
| Jane Austen College | 53.7 | 6.9% | 29.3% | 1,085 | 2.6 miles |
| Notre Dame High School, Norwich | 61.3 | 5.5% | 14.3% | 1,613 | 2.6 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)
- 16.05%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.91%
- Persistent absence
- 19.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Open Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Sprowston Community Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Sewell Park Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Jane Austen College2.6 miles
Secondary · Norwich
-
Notre Dame High School, Norwich2.6 miles
Secondary · Norwich
Other schools in Norwich
Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form ranks 8th of the 22 ranked secondary schools in Norwich.
- Acle Academy Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form teach?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Norwich.
- Who is the principal of Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form?
- The principal of Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is Mrs Penny Bignell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form, 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 Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form has 1,830 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form full?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form has capacity for 1,892 pupils and 1,830 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form a faith school?
- No. Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form has no designated religious character.
- Is Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form a selective school?
- No. Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is part of BROAD HORIZONS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.4 in 2022/23 and 49.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form rank locally?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form ranked 12th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form's absence rate?
- Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form'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.