Ormiston Victory Academy

Ormiston Victory Academy is a calm, ambitious school where pupils enjoy learning and make good progress through a broad curriculum. The school has notable strengths in personal development, behaviour, careers guidance, reading support, SEND provision and leadership. Pupils are respectful and kind, bullying is rare, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of Ormiston Academies Trust and has not had a routine section 5 inspection since 2013; this inspection took place after the pandemic and under arrangements where no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. Leaders have built a strong sense of community and staff feel valued. Curriculum changes are widening access to rigorous qualifications, including the EBacc, and sixth-form students move on to a wide range of destinations. Support for pupils with increasingly complex SEND is effective, and reading interventions help struggling readers progress quickly. The main area for improvement is inconsistency in a small number of subjects, where subject content is not presented and knowledge checked consistently. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their understanding and written work. The school should ensure teaching is adapted as necessary to meet the aims of the curriculum in all subjects.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum enables pupils to make good progress.
• Calm, orderly environment supported by a rewards system that pupils value.
• Strong behaviour and respectful, kind relationships; bullying is rare and addressed swiftly.
• Highly effective support for pupils with increasingly complex SEND, including nurture provision.
• Reading is prioritised, with quick identification and effective interventions for struggling readers.
• Personal development is exemplary, including strong PSHE and understanding of British values.
• Extensive enrichment, performing arts and music opportunities that pupils value.
• Careers provision is a strength, including regular world-of-work engagement and strong sixth-form destinations.
• Leadership is ambitious and builds a strong community, with staff feeling valued and well supported.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Curriculum changes are widening access to a broad, rigorous range of qualifications and the EBacc.
• Sixth-form students act as role models and benefit from high-quality careers guidance.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, subject content presentation and knowledge checking are inconsistent, leaving some pupils with gaps in understanding and written work.
• Teaching is not consistently adapted to meet the aims of the curriculum in all subjects.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ormiston Victory Academy attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.1% of pupils at Ormiston Victory Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ormiston Victory Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.4% of pupils at Ormiston Victory Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Ormiston Victory Academy received £7,926 and spent £7,923 for each of its 1,477 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,116,000 (£755 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Ormiston Academies Trust, income was £8,888 and spending £8,698 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Norwich · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Ormiston Victory Academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• City of Norwich School, An Ormiston Academy Norwich
• Broadland High Ormiston Academy Norwich
• Flegg High Ormiston Academy Great Yarmouth
• Ormiston Herman Academy Great Yarmouth
• Ormiston Venture Academy Gorleston
• Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy Great Yarmouth
• Cliff Park Ormiston Academy Great Yarmouth
• Ormiston Cliff Park Primary Academy Great Yarmouth
• Ormiston Denes Academy Lowestoft
• Ormiston Endeavour Academy Ipswich

What is Ormiston Victory Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ormiston Victory Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Ormiston Victory Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston Victory Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Ormiston Victory Academy have?

Ormiston Victory Academy has 1,517 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston Victory Academy cover?

Ormiston Victory Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ormiston Victory Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.6, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston Victory Academy?

Ormiston Victory Academy is at Middleton Crescent, Costessey, Norwich, Norfolk, NR5 0PX.