Duke of Lancaster School
Highfield Road, Fakenham, NR21 9DQ
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 5 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EASTERN EDUCATION GROUP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Elizabeth Barneveld
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- West Suffolk College
- Constituency
- Broadland and Fakenham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 100
- Pupils on roll
- 107
- URN
- 148859
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01328800880
About this school
Duke of Lancaster School is a special academy in Fakenham. It teaches children aged 5 to 16 and has 107 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Duke of Lancaster 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 50% | 30% | 27% |
| Expected standard in maths | 13% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 38% | 20% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 94.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 91.0 | 91.0 | 90.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -9.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -10.60 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 6 | 11 |
| Attainment 8 score | 7.5 | 7.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -3.10 -4.24 to -1.97 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 9.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 9.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.3 | 0.3 |
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 Duke of Lancaster 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 | 13% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 7.5 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 7.1 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 21.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 19.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 20.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75 |
| 2023/24 | 97 |
| 2024/25 | 100 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report6 May 2026
- 5 March 2024
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 20.81%
- Persistent absence
- 45.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ortus Education Ltd - West Raynham School4.2 miles
Special schools · Fakenham
-
Fakenham Academy0.3 miles
Secondary · Fakenham
-
Fakenham Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Fakenham
-
Fakenham Infant and Nursery School0.7 miles
Primary · Fakenham
-
Sculthorpe Church of England Primary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Fakenham
Other schools in Fakenham
- Ortus Education Ltd - West Raynham School Special schools
- All Saints Stibbard Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Blenheim Park Academy Primary
- Colkirk Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Fakenham Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Fakenham Junior School Primary
- Hindringham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Little Snoring Community Primary Academy Primary
- Sculthorpe Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Fakenham Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Duke of Lancaster School teach?
- Duke of Lancaster School teaches children aged 5 to 16. It is a special school in Fakenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Duke of Lancaster School?
- The headteacher of Duke of Lancaster School is Ms Elizabeth Barneveld, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Duke of Lancaster School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Duke of Lancaster 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 Duke of Lancaster School?
- Duke of Lancaster School has 107 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 16.
- Is Duke of Lancaster School full?
- Duke of Lancaster School has capacity for 100 pupils and 107 on roll (107%), 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 Duke of Lancaster School a faith school?
- No. Duke of Lancaster School has no designated religious character.
- Is Duke of Lancaster School a selective school?
- No. Duke of Lancaster School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Duke of Lancaster School part of an academy trust?
- Duke of Lancaster School is part of EASTERN EDUCATION GROUP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Duke of Lancaster School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 13% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Duke of Lancaster School's absence rate?
- Duke of Lancaster School's overall absence rate is 20.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Duke of Lancaster School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Duke of Lancaster 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 15 July 2026.