Sunrise Academy
Church Lane, Lowestoft, NR33 8AX
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 9 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EASTERN EDUCATION GROUP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Patrick Hamilton
- Sponsor
- West Suffolk College
- Constituency
- Lowestoft
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 52
- Pupils on roll
- 51
- URN
- 149151
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
About this school
Sunrise Academy is a special academy in Lowestoft. It teaches children aged 9 to 16 and has 51 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - |
| Expected standard in reading | - | - |
| Expected standard in maths | - | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Attainment 8 score | 2.0 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| Progress 8 score | - | -2.03 -3.16 to -0.90 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
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 Sunrise 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 | 2 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 0.8 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.5 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 44.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 36.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41 |
| 2023/24 | 39 |
| 2024/25 | 44 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 79.55%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 36.84%
- Persistent absence
- 79.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Warren School1.1 miles
Academies · Lowestoft
-
The Old School2.5 miles
Independent schools · Beccles
-
Ness Point School3.2 miles
Special schools
-
Learning Support, Northern Area Education Office3.4 miles
Other types · Lowestoft
-
The Ashley School3.5 miles
Academies · Lowestoft
Other schools in Lowestoft
- Horizon School Local authority maintained schools
- The Ashley School Academies
- Warren School Academies
- Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Carlton Colville Primary School Primary
- Corton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dell Primary School Primary
- Elm Tree Primary School Primary
- Grove Primary School Primary
- Gunton Primary Academy Primary
- Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sunrise Academy teach?
- Sunrise Academy teaches children aged 9 to 16. It is a special school in Lowestoft.
- Who is the headteacher of Sunrise Academy?
- The headteacher of Sunrise Academy is Mr Patrick Hamilton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sunrise Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sunrise 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 Sunrise Academy?
- Sunrise Academy has 51 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 16.
- Is Sunrise Academy full?
- Sunrise Academy has capacity for 52 pupils and 51 on roll (98%), 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 Sunrise Academy a faith school?
- No. Sunrise Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Sunrise Academy?
- Sunrise Academy 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 Sunrise Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 2 in 2022/23 and 2.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Sunrise Academy's absence rate?
- Sunrise Academy's overall absence rate is 36.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sunrise Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sunrise 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 10 July 2026.