Claydon High School

Claydon High School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils feel safe and valued, and its personal development and wellbeing provision is a standout strength. The LIFE curriculum, careers education, wide extracurricular offer and student leadership opportunities help pupils become confident, considerate citizens, and pupils attend very well. Safeguarding standards are met, and staff, parents and pupils are positive about the school. Overall, the school is performing at the expected standard. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, teaching is usually effective, and pupils generally achieve in line with national averages and move on successfully to education or employment. Inclusion is a clear priority: pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well known and generally well supported, and behaviour is typically calm and respectful. Leaders know what needs to improve. Some pupils, especially in key stage 3, do not communicate their ideas in writing as well as they could; formative assessment and curriculum adaptation are not consistently precise, including for some pupils with EHC plans; and support for leaders at all levels to drive improvement is still at an early stage. Disadvantaged pupils' progress was below national average in 2023/24, which is a further area to watch.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing are at the heart of the school's offer.
• The LIFE curriculum builds pupils' knowledge of the world, faiths and perspectives.
• Careers education is comprehensive and often first-hand.
• Pupils participate fully in an extensive range of clubs, visits and competitions.
• Student leadership gives pupils a genuine voice and builds confidence.
• Pupils attend very well and enjoy coming to school.
• Relationships are positive and pupils are typically polite and respectful.
• Behaviour routines are clear and classrooms are usually calm and purposeful.
• The curriculum is broad, aspirational and well designed across subjects.
• Subject one-pagers help pupils recall key vocabulary and concepts.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and most teaching is at least effective.
• Pupils with SEND often have the curriculum precisely adapted for them.
• Inclusion is strong: every pupil is valued and supported to belong.
• Robust tracking and effective use of pupil premium support disadvantaged pupils.
• Staff wellbeing and workload support contribute to high staff retention.
• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils, especially in key stage 3, struggle to communicate their ideas in writing as well as they could.
• Formative assessment is inconsistent, so curriculum adaptations are not always precise.
• Targets for some pupils with education, health and care plans are not specific enough.
• When teaching is less effective, staff do not check pupils' learning carefully enough.
• Support for leaders at all levels to embed and drive improvement is at an early stage and not always rigorous enough.
• Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8 was below the national average in 2023/24.

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 Claydon High School attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.0% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Claydon High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Claydon High School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% 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, 9.8% of pupils at Claydon High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.4% 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 Claydon High School received £7,696 and spent £7,541 for each of its 773 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £886,000 (£1,146 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Penrose Learning Trust, income was £7,759 and spending £7,612 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

Claydon High School is part of Penrose Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Claydon Primary School Ipswich
• Dale Hall Community Primary School Ipswich
• Hadleigh High School Ipswich
• East Bergholt High School Colchester
• Elmstead Primary School Colchester
• Colchester Academy Colchester
• Great Bentley Primary School Colchester
• Frinton-on-Sea Primary School Frinton-On-Sea

What is Claydon High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Claydon High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Claydon High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Claydon High School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Claydon High School have?

Claydon High School has 765 pupils on roll.

What age range does Claydon High School cover?

Claydon High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Claydon High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.2, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Claydon High School?

Claydon High School is at Church Lane, Claydon, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 0EG.