Debenham High School

Academy converter·Secondary school Stowmarket, Suffolk·IP14 6BL
Composite score
69.6
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#420
National rank
#49
In East of England
#1
In Suffolk
Top 13%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
55.7
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
68%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
85%
% EBacc grade 5+
20%
EBacc average points score
4.74

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
96%
146 first choices, 141 places
First choices per place
1.03
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
231
any preference, for 141 places
Last place offered lived
6.99 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 11254 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.11
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9920220.9520230.9820241.1520251.032026

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

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants, and in 2025 the last place went under “Priority Group 3e – all other applicants ranked by distance”. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

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

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
699
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
13.4%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
1.0%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
7.0%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.6%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
7.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
19.6%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.9
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,545
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
96%
135 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
89%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Debenham High School at a glance

Located in Stowmarket, Suffolk, Debenham High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Church of England religious character. The school educates roughly 699 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 55.7, above the national average of 46. Results have held broadly steady on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 13% of secondary schools in England.

68% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 85% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 96% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (146 first choices for 141 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2025 lived 6.99 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 96% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 7.6%. There are about 16.9 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. 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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