Hellesdon High School

Hellesdon High School has shown improvements in its educational offerings, with the quality of education being marked as good. However, the overall effectiveness of the school is rated as requiring improvement, primarily due to issues with behavior and attitudes among some pupils, which disrupts learning. The school is part of The Wensum Trust and has positively adjusted its ambitious curriculum to better meet pupils' needs, particularly following previous low outcomes. The sixth form provision is noted to be strong, providing a supportive environment and high-quality education for students.

Strengths

• Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum that builds on prior knowledge.
• Students in the sixth form achieve highly and enjoy a supportive environment.
• Teachers effectively deliver new information and assess pupil understanding.
• The school accurately identifies and supports pupils with special educational needs.
• Leaders prioritize personal development, teaching fundamental British values.

Areas for Improvement

• A minority of pupils display poor attitudes and disrupt learning.
• Not all lessons maintain a calm and orderly environment, impacting learning.
• Reading support for struggling pupils is insufficient, affecting their fluency.

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 Hellesdon High School attended 89.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.6% 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, 5.9% of pupils at Hellesdon 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 Hellesdon High School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% 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, 5.8% of pupils at Hellesdon High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.5% 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 Hellesdon High School received £7,590 and spent £7,428 for each of its 1,528 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £291,000 (£191 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Wensum Trust, income was £7,356 and spending £7,170 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

Hellesdon High School is part of The Wensum Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Kinsale Junior School Norwich
• Kinsale Infant School Norwich
• Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Heather Avenue Infant School Norwich
• Firside Junior School Norwich
• Garrick Green Infant School Norwich
• Lodge Lane Infant School Norwich
• Acle Academy Norwich
• Wells-Next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School Wells-Next-The-Sea
• Alderman Peel High School Wells-Next-The-Sea

What is Hellesdon High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hellesdon High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Hellesdon High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hellesdon High School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Hellesdon High School have?

Hellesdon High School has 1,476 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hellesdon High School cover?

Hellesdon High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Hellesdon High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.0, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hellesdon High School?

Hellesdon High School is at 187 Middletons Lane, Hellesdon, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 5SB.