Reepham High School and College

Reepham High School and College is a warm, welcoming secondary school and sixth form where pupils value one another, behave well and take pride in their achievements. Inspectors found good provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision, with effective safeguarding arrangements. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced from Year 7 to Year 13, and teachers generally explain new content clearly and help pupils connect it to prior learning. Sixth-form students develop strong independent study skills and produce high-quality work. Pupils benefit from a broad range of enrichment, trips and careers guidance, and they develop a strong understanding of British values and diversity. Leaders have retained a clear focus on pupils' learning and experience despite significant change and turbulence, and governors and trustees hold the school to account. The main areas for improvement concern the quality and timeliness of feedback on pupils' written work, inconsistent adaptation of teaching for pupils with SEND, and reading support that lacks rigour in design, delivery and tracking. As a result, some misconceptions and basic skills errors persist, some pupils with SEND do not progress as well as they could, and the weakest readers do not catch up quickly enough. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it is part of Synergy Multi Academy Trust, and the head of school took up his post in September 2024.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming culture where pupils value each other and celebrate achievements
• Pupils behave well, listen attentively and respect each other's right to learn
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum from Year 7 to Year 13
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject expertise and give clear explanations
• Sixth-form students develop strong independent study skills and produce high-quality work
• Broad enrichment programme, including trips, theatre visits and enrichment week
• Pupils develop a deep understanding of British values and celebrate diversity
• Strong careers information and sixth-form university application support
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders have maintained focus on learning and experience through significant change
• Governors and trustees hold the school to account and support improvement
• SEND needs are identified quickly and most teaching uses the information well

Areas for Improvement

• Teacher feedback on written work sometimes lacks precision or timeliness, so misconceptions and basic skills errors persist
• Some adaptations to teaching do not address pupils with SEND's specific barriers to learning
• Reading support lacks rigour in design, implementation and tracking, so some weaker readers do not catch up quickly enough
• Sixth-form leadership opportunities for students are limited

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 Reepham High School and College attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.9% 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, 6.3% of pupils at Reepham High School and College 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 Reepham High School and College had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.9% 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, 15.4% of pupils at Reepham High School and College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.9% 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 Reepham High School and College received £7,679 and spent £7,863 for each of its 1,015 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £281,000 (-£277 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Synergy Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,470 and spending £7,697 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

Reepham High School and College is part of Synergy Multi Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Reepham Primary School Norwich
• Bawdeswell Community Primary School Dereham
• Foulsham Primary School Academy Dereham
• Corpusty Primary School Norwich
• Astley Primary School Melton Constable
• Mattishall Primary School Dereham
• Gresham Village School and Nursery Norwich
• Fakenham Infant and Nursery School Fakenham
• Fakenham Junior School Fakenham
• Antingham and Southrepps Primary School Norwich

What is Reepham High School and College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Reepham High School and College is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Reepham High School and College last inspected by Ofsted?

Reepham High School and College was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Reepham High School and College have?

Reepham High School and College has 959 pupils on roll.

What age range does Reepham High School and College cover?

Reepham High School and College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Reepham High School and College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.2, and 56% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Reepham High School and College?

Reepham High School and College is at Whitwell Road, Reepham, Norwich, Norfolk, NR10 4JT.