The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)
Wilderness Lane, Harleston, IP20 9DD
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH ST BENET'S MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Rob Connelly
- Diocese
- Diocese of Norwich
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Diocese of Norwich St Benet's Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Waveney Valley
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 973
- Pupils on roll
- 824
- URN
- 149197
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01379852561
About this school
The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) is a Church of England all-through academy in Harleston. It teaches children aged 3 to 16 and has 824 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England 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 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 51 | 52 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 35% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 62% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 44% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% | 52% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 99.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.50 | - | - |
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 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 94 | 97 | 91 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.7 | 47.3 | 42.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.02 -0.31 to +0.27 | +0.04 -0.25 to +0.32 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 35.1% | 29.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 63.9% | 63.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 16% | 22.7% | 19.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
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 The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England 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 | 47% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 35% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.7 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.3 | 39.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.7 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 924 |
| 2023/24 | 874 |
| 2024/25 | 837 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) compares
The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) ranked 35th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.7 | 6.8% | 20.4% | 824 | — |
| Mendham Primary School | — | 6.1% | 29.8% | 57 | 1.8 miles |
| Alburgh With Denton Church of England Primary Academy | — | 3.6% | 8.6% | 99 | 3.1 miles |
| Pulham Church of England Primary Academy | — | — | — | 98 | 3.4 miles |
| Fressingfield Church of England Primary School | — | 5.8% | 15.4% | 91 | 3.7 miles |
| Dickleburgh Church of England Primary Academy (With Pre-School) | — | 3% | 14.7% | 179 | 4.6 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)
- 20.39%
- English as an additional language
- 5.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.83%
- Persistent absence
- 18.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mendham Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Harleston
-
Alburgh With Denton Church of England Primary Academy3.1 miles
Primary · Harleston
-
Pulham Church of England Primary Academy3.4 miles
Primary · Diss
-
Fressingfield Church of England Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Eye
- 4.6 miles
Other schools in Harleston
Common questions
- What ages does The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) teach?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) teaches children aged 3 to 16. It is an all-through school in Harleston.
- Who is the headteacher of The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)?
- The headteacher of The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) is Rob Connelly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England 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 The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) has 824 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 16.
- Is The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) full?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) has capacity for 973 pupils and 824 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 The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) a faith school?
- Yes. The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Norwich.
- Does The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) as having nursery classes.
- Is The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) part of an academy trust?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) is part of THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH ST BENET'S MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)'s results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) compare with other schools in Norfolk?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) ranked 35th of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)'s absence rate?
- The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)'s overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)'s exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England 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.