Beccles High School

Beccles High School is a small community secondary school that joined the Sapientia Education Trust in September 2024. Inspectors found leadership and governance to be strong, with the trust providing measured and precise support that has driven improvement and restored community confidence. The school is judged to be meeting expected standards in attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing, while achievement requires attention. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and governance, with effective trust support since September 2024.
• Leaders have restored confidence in the community and improved communication with stakeholders.
• Pupils, including those with SEND and vulnerable backgrounds, progress well and receive needed support.
• Staff training is well-planned, and workload is managed efficiently.
• Attendance has improved rapidly, and the culture around attendance is positive.
• Pupils behave well, and classrooms are focused and purposeful.
• The curriculum has been improved effectively, with high-quality resources and teaching.
• Pupils benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum and a generally consistent teaching approach.
• Inclusion is effective; all pupils feel welcome and valued, and the SEND provision is calm and purposeful.
• Personal development and wellbeing are prioritised, with a comprehensive programme and enriching opportunities.
• Pupils receive tailored careers guidance and are well prepared for the next stage in education, apprenticeships or employment.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement in national examinations remains well below national averages.
• Too many pupils still have gaps in their core knowledge.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance is significantly below national averages, with large disadvantage gaps.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages.
• Leaders need to ensure targeted and precise assessments effectively identify and address gaps in pupils' understanding.
• Pupils need greater resilience and independence in their attitudes to learning.
• The personal development and wellbeing curriculum requires further embedding.

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 Beccles High School attended 88.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.5% 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, 23.1% of pupils at Beccles High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Beccles High School had 10.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 45.7% 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, 19.8% of pupils at Beccles High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 23.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 20 pupils.

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 Beccles High School received £12,785 and spent £11,970 for each of its 239 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £119,000 (£499 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of Sapientia Education Trust, income was £8,533 and spending £8,510 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 Beccles · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Beccles High School is part of Sapientia Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Seething and Mundham Primary School Norwich
• Rockland St Mary Primary School Main Office
• Surlingham Primary School Norwich
• Framingham Earl High School Norwich
• Stradbroke High School Eye
• Tivetshall Community Primary School Norwich
• White House Farm Norwich
• City Academy Norwich Norwich
• Burston Community Primary School Diss
• Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School Norwich

What is Beccles High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beccles High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Beccles High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Beccles High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Beccles High School have?

Beccles High School has 182 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beccles High School cover?

Beccles High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Beccles High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 25.4, and 10% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Beccles High School?

Beccles High School is at Castle Hill, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 7BQ.