Breckland School

Breckland School continues to perform well as a good school, maintaining a positive atmosphere where pupils feel happy and safe. The school has effectively addressed previous inspection recommendations, notably enhancing its curriculum to ensure students, including those with special educational needs, receive a comprehensive education. The strong leadership, particularly in mentoring and staff support, has contributed to a calm learning environment where pupils are engaged and focused on their studies.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and feel well cared for by staff.
• There are strong systems in place for addressing bullying and promoting respect.
• The curriculum has been thoughtfully designed to enhance depth of study.
• Teachers are well-trained and consistently implement effective teaching practices.
• Effective support for weak readers is in place, leading to improved reading confidence.
• A comprehensive PSHE curriculum prepares pupils well for their futures.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack consistency in adapting their teaching for pupils with SEND.

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 Breckland School attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.1% 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, 8.3% of pupils at Breckland School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Breckland School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 4.4% of pupils at Breckland School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.3% 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 Breckland School received £8,149 and spent £8,029 for each of its 615 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £188,000 (£305 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Unity Schools Partnership, income was £8,494 and spending £8,500 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 West Suffolk · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Breckland School is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• West Row Academy Bury St. Edmunds
• Tollgate Primary School Bury St Edmunds
• Bury St Edmunds County High School Bury St Edmunds
• Sir Peter Hall School Bury St. Edmunds
• Abbots Green Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Sybil Andrews Academy Bury St. Edmunds
• Laureate Community Academy Newmarket
• Newmarket Academy Newmarket
• Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy Newmarket
• Ditton Lodge Primary School Newmarket

What is Breckland School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Breckland School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Breckland School last inspected by Ofsted?

Breckland School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Breckland School have?

Breckland School has 615 pupils on roll.

What age range does Breckland School cover?

Breckland School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Breckland School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.9, and 31% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Breckland School?

Breckland School is at Crown Street, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0PE.