Wayland Academy

Academy converter·Secondary school Thetford, Norfolk·IP25 6BA
Composite score
65.0
Compare Wayland Academy with another school
#697
National rank
#70
In East of England
#6
In Norfolk
Top 22%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
52.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
63%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
79%
% EBacc grade 5+
31%
EBacc average points score
4.89

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
96%
140 first choices, 137 places
First choices per place
1.02
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
167
any preference, for 137 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9420220.9720230.9820241.0920251.022026

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

Norfolk does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Wayland Academy. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

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

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
548
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
25.7%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
21.0%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
7.7%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.0%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.0%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
24.4%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.2
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,987
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
88%
102 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
80%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Wayland Academy at a glance

Located in Thetford, Norfolk, Wayland Academy is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 548 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 52.0 — above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 6.7 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 22% of secondary schools nationally.

63% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 79% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Wayland Academy is oversubscribed: about 10 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 140 first choices for 137 places. After Year 11, 88% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.0%. There are about 17.2 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.

Compare Wayland Academy with another school