Fakenham Academy

Fakenham Academy demonstrates a strong overall performance, successfully maintaining the standards identified in previous inspections. Under the leadership of Gavin Green, the school has cultivated a supportive environment where students feel safe and valued. The curriculum, which has been significantly revamped with the help of the Sapientia Education Trust, is broad and ambitious, allowing pupils to achieve well across various subjects. The school excels in providing personalized support for students, particularly those with special educational needs, contributing to positive academic outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe at school.
• High expectations are set for pupils’ achievements.
• Strong sense of community among pupils.
• Curriculum is broad, ambitious, and of high quality.
• Staff are well-trained and share best practices.
• Effective support programs for pupils with barriers to reading.
• Pupils receive extensive careers guidance.

Areas for Improvement

• Some areas of the wider curriculum have not seen improvement in pupil achievement.

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 Fakenham Academy attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.2% 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, 5.4% of pupils at Fakenham 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 Fakenham Academy had 19.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.9% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Fakenham Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Fakenham Academy received £7,887 and spent £8,032 for each of its 743 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £371,000 (£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 Fakenham · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Fakenham Academy is part of Sapientia Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Swaffham Meadow Primary School Swaffham
• Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Wymondham College Wymondham
• Wymondham College Prep School Wymondham
• City Academy Norwich Norwich
• Attleborough Academy Attleborough
• Attleborough Primary School Attleborough
• Great Hockham Primary School and Nursery Thetford
• Rosecroft Primary School Attleborough
• White House Farm Norwich

What is Fakenham Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fakenham Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Fakenham Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Fakenham Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Fakenham Academy have?

Fakenham Academy has 723 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fakenham Academy cover?

Fakenham Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Fakenham Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.4, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Fakenham Academy?

Fakenham Academy is at Field Lane, Fakenham, Norfolk, NR21 9QT.