Stowmarket High School

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Stowmarket, Suffolk·IP14 1QR
Composite score
50.6
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#2,451
National rank
#272
In East of England
#29
In Suffolk
Top 77%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
40.5
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
35%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
58%
% EBacc grade 5+
11%
EBacc average points score
3.52

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
201 first choices, 202 places
First choices per place
0.99
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
320
any preference, for 202 places
Last place offered lived
2.00 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 3219 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.16
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9720221.1520230.9720241.1520250.992026

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 6 – children on roll at feeder school who live nearest to the sch”. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

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

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
896
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
21.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
5.9%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
14.3%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
23.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.1
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,158
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
92%
148 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
81%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
5%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Stowmarket High School

Stowmarket High School is a secondary school in Stowmarket, Suffolk, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 896 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 40.5 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 4.9 points compared with 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%. 58% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Stowmarket High School their first choice was offered one of its 202 Year 7 places. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 2.00 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 92% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.7%. There are about 17.1 pupils per teacher. Stowmarket High School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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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