Chantry Academy

Chantry Academy is performing well overall, with a graded effectiveness of good across all areas including education quality, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. The school, part of The Active Learning Trust, fosters an inclusive environment and plays a significant role in the local community. Pupils benefit from a well-structured curriculum and show high levels of respect and cooperation. Attendance rates have seen a marked improvement, contributing positively to student achievement. Notably, the school has implemented important changes to its curriculum to address past performance challenges, particularly at key stage 4, leading to better outcomes for pupils who attend regularly. While most pupils exhibit positive behaviour, there are still concerns regarding a small minority who do not attend regularly or report bullying issues, which the school is encouraged to address to ensure all students feel safe and supported.

Strengths

• Welcoming and friendly environment
• Inclusive ethos with high expectations for all pupils
• Well-structured, ambitious curriculum that meets SEND needs
• Effective behaviour management leading to reduced incidents
• Strong support for pupils with SEND
• Proactive approach to reading and literacy development
• Exciting extra-curricular activities and opportunities for pupils
• Strong leadership and staff collaboration

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not attend regularly enough
• A small number of pupils do not behave well
• Not all pupils report bullying concerns, preventing timely resolution

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 Chantry Academy attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.9% 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, 3.5% of pupils at Chantry Academy 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 Chantry Academy had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.2% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Chantry Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 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 Chantry Academy received £8,419 and spent £8,451 for each of its 984 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,173,000 (£1,192 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of The Active Learning Trust Limited, income was £8,366 and spending £8,624 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

Chantry Academy is part of The Active Learning Trust Limited, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Gusford Community Primary School Ipswich
• Hillside Primary School Ipswich
• Sidegate Primary School Ipswich
• Reydon Primary School Southwold
• The Albert Pye Community Primary School Beccles
• Ravensmere Infant School Beccles
• Loddon Junior School Norwich
• Loddon Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Grove Primary School Lowestoft
• Pakefield Primary School Lowestoft

What is Chantry Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chantry Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Chantry Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Chantry Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Chantry Academy have?

Chantry Academy has 1,006 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chantry Academy cover?

Chantry Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Chantry Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.7, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Chantry Academy?

Chantry Academy is at Mallard Way, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 9LR.