The Open Academy

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Norwich, Norfolk·NR7 9DL
Composite score
45.9
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#2,878
National rank
#326
In East of England
#51
In Norfolk
Top 90%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
36.7
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
35%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
51%
% EBacc grade 5+
4%
EBacc average points score
3.16

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
91 first choices, 96 places
First choices per place
0.95
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
250
any preference, for 96 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.15
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0720221.1020230.9420241.1020250.952026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put The Open Academy first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–19
Pupils on roll
560
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
40.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
12.9%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
25.9%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
6.6%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
12.4%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
39.7%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
14.4
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£9,211
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
87%
104 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
84%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The Open Academy

The Open Academy is a secondary school in Norwich, Norfolk, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy with a Church of England religious character. Around 560 pupils aged 11 to 19 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 36.7, below the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 1.8 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

35% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 51% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. The Open Academy was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 91 families who put it first were offered a place. After Year 11, 87% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 12.4%. There are about 14.4 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 40% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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