Academy sponsor led

Ipswich Academy

Mixed · ages 11–18 · with sixth formSuffolk, East of England · Ipswich IP3 0SPTrust: Paradigm TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
981of 1,230 places
Free school meals
41.5%
Year 11 cohort 2025
190
Ofsted
Requires improvement, 8 May 2024Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Holywells High School (URN 124843, until 26 April 2011).

What the data says

Of the 155 pupils who finished Year 11 at Ipswich Academy in 2023, 29% stayed on in Ipswich Academy’s own sixth form (Suffolk average 39%), 46% went to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.

11% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.

GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 37.6 against 46.1 across England and 42.8 in Suffolk, with 30% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 23% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Suffolk and England.

Ipswich Academy
Suffolk
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureIpswich AcademySuffolkEngland
Pupils in the cohort1557,591607,348
Any sustained destination85%93%92%
Stayed in education77%87%86%
— school sixth form29%39%34%
— sixth form college0%5%13%
— further education college46%42%37%
— other education1%2%2%
Apprenticeship3%3%3%
Employment6%3%3%
No sustained destination11%5%6%
Destination unknown4%2%3%

Where students went after sixth form

Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.

No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.

GCSE results 2025

MeasureIpswich AcademySuffolkEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)37.642.846.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths30%40%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths48%61%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects7%27%41%
EBacc average point score3.233.704.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort38%25%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils31.330.834.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils41.546.750.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language21%10%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Literature18698%86%8%21%52%
English Language18698%89%6%20%51%
Mathematics18698%88%11%22%56%
Combined Science16989%65%5%9%46%
Geography10254%41%10%25%52%
History10053%41%15%26%53%
Business Studies5026%18%2%20%36%
Fine Art4323%9%2%28%19%
Film Studies2714%1%7%20%30%
Religious Studies2614%31%46%32%85%
Computer Science2413%13%29%30%46%
French158%18%47%29%80%
Chemistry137%23%46%47%100%
Physics137%23%31%46%92%
Biology137%23%38%45%92%
Physical Education126%11%8%24%67%
Statistics105%5%40%20%100%
Music95%5%11%33%44%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Hospitality / Catering Studies40
Computer Appreciation / Introduction26
Personal Health25
Speech and Drama10

Other secondary schools in Suffolk

Alde Valley Academy

Academy sponsor led · 645 pupils

80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.7

Breckland School

Free schools · 615 pupils

81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.4

Bungay High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 922 pupils

90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.7

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.