Smithdon High School
Downs Road, Hunstanton, PE36 5HY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WEST NORFOLK ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Robinson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- West Norfolk Academies Trust
- Constituency
- North West Norfolk
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 579
- URN
- 143520
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01485534541
About this school
Smithdon High School is a secondary academy in Hunstanton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 579 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Smithdon High School, 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 125 | 120 | 94 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.1 | 39.9 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.18 to +0.32 | -0.41 -0.67 to -0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 31.7% | 27.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 54.2% | 53.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 47.5% | 57.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
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 Smithdon High 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 | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.1 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.9 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 612 |
| 2023/24 | 581 |
| 2024/25 | 564 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Smithdon High School compares
Smithdon High School ranked 43rd of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 12.3% | 24.3% | 579 | — |
| Hunstanton Primary School | — | 5.9% | 39.7% | 161 | 0.3 miles |
| Glebe House School | — | — | 0% | 117 | 0.5 miles |
| Heacham Infant and Nursery School | — | 6.6% | 20% | 102 | 2.1 miles |
| Heacham Junior School | — | 4.5% | 35.7% | 94 | 2.2 miles |
| Snettisham Primary School | — | 5.3% | 39.8% | 80 | 4.0 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.29%
- English as an additional language
- 3.5%
- Overall absence
- 12.31%
- Persistent absence
- 34.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hunstanton Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Hunstanton
-
Glebe House School0.5 miles
Independent schools · Hunstanton
-
Heacham Infant and Nursery School2.1 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
-
Heacham Junior School2.2 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
-
Snettisham Primary School4.0 miles
Primary · King's Lynn
Other schools in Hunstanton
- Hunstanton Primary School Primary
- Glebe House School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Smithdon High School teach?
- Smithdon High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hunstanton.
- Who is the headteacher of Smithdon High School?
- The headteacher of Smithdon High School is Mrs Sarah Robinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Smithdon High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Smithdon High 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 Smithdon High School?
- Smithdon High School has 579 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Smithdon High School full?
- Smithdon High School has capacity for 750 pupils and 579 on roll (77%), 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 Smithdon High School a faith school?
- No. Smithdon High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Smithdon High School a selective school?
- No. Smithdon High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Smithdon High School part of an academy trust?
- Smithdon High School is part of WEST NORFOLK ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Smithdon High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.1 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Smithdon High School compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- Smithdon High School ranked 43rd of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Smithdon High School's absence rate?
- Smithdon High School's overall absence rate is 12.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Smithdon High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Smithdon High 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 10 July 2026.