Kesgrave High School

Kesgrave High School has received a positive inspection report, reflecting its good performance across key areas including education quality, behaviour, and leadership. Leaders have established a culture of high expectations and support for both staff and students, leading to a well-rounded educational experience. The school exhibits strong relationships between staff and pupils and is known for its effective pastoral support, which contributes to a conducive learning environment. However, some challenges remain, notably in addressing reading support for pupils in key stage 4, where there are identified gaps in age-appropriate skills. Additionally, the school's systems for tracking performance improvements are still developing and need to be more detailed. Despite these areas of concern, the school is committed to making progress and enhancing its educational offerings.

Strengths

• Strong subject knowledge among teachers
• Effective pastoral care and support systems
• Pupils show pride in their school and positive behaviour
• Personalised curriculum for sixth-form students
• Broad range of subjects offered to pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Low uptake of modern foreign languages in key stage 4
• Some pupils struggle with age-appropriate reading skills
• Underdeveloped systems for tracking and analysing school performance

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 Kesgrave High School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.3% 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, 5.0% of pupils at Kesgrave High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Kesgrave High School had 16.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.5% 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, 18.9% of pupils at Kesgrave High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.0% 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 Kesgrave High School received £7,220 and spent £7,455 for each of its 1,861 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,491,000 (£1,338 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of East Anglian Schools Trust Ltd, income was £7,560 and spending £7,510 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 Ipswich · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Kesgrave High School is part of East Anglian Schools Trust Ltd, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Kyson Primary School Woodbridge
• Farlingaye High School Woodbridge
• Holbrook Academy Ipswich
• Wickham Market Primary School Woodbridge
• Easton Primary School Woodbridge
• Saxmundham Primary School Saxmundham
• Aldeburgh Primary School Aldeburgh
• Leiston Primary School Leiston
• Bungay High School Bungay
• Castle EAST School Bungay

What is Kesgrave High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kesgrave High School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Kesgrave High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kesgrave High School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Kesgrave High School have?

Kesgrave High School has 1,875 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kesgrave High School cover?

Kesgrave High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Kesgrave High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.0, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kesgrave High School?

Kesgrave High School is at Main Road, Kesgrave, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP5 2PB.