North Walsham High School

North Walsham High School has shown a commendable performance in its first Ofsted inspection, achieving a 'Good' grade in education quality, behavior, and personal development. The school has significantly improved under new leadership and the Enrich Learning Trust, demonstrating a strong commitment to academic excellence paired with a nurturing environment. Pupils are proud to be part of the school community, showing high respect towards their peers and benefitting from a well-designed curriculum that caters to various needs.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate high levels of respect and care for each other.
• The curriculum is ambitious and effectively designed to meet the needs of all pupils.
• Teachers receive high-quality training and are skilled in delivering the curriculum.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Pupils engage in a wide range of extracurricular activities, fostering personal development.
• Leadership demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• In key stage 3, some teachers do not sufficiently check pupils' understanding.
• Activities sometimes do not closely match pupils' starting points, limiting opportunities for deeper understanding.

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 North Walsham High School attended 91.6% 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, 7.8% of pupils at North Walsham 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 North Walsham High School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 18.1% of pupils at North Walsham High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% 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 North Walsham High School received £7,753 and spent £7,796 for each of its 619 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £137,000 (£221 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Enrich Learning Trust, income was £7,395 and spending £7,499 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 North Walsham · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

North Walsham High School is part of Enrich Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Millfield Primary School North Walsham
• Taverham High School Norwich
• Wymondham High Academy Wymondham
• Dereham Neatherd High School Dereham
• Spooner Row Primary School Wymondham
• Long Stratton High School Norwich
• Kenninghall Primary School
• Diss High School Diss

What is North Walsham High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Walsham High School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was North Walsham High School last inspected by Ofsted?

North Walsham High School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does North Walsham High School have?

North Walsham High School has 641 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Walsham High School cover?

North Walsham High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are North Walsham High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.1, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is North Walsham High School?

North Walsham High School is at Spenser Avenue, North Walsham, Norfolk, NR28 9HZ.