Free schools special

Churchill Special Free School

Mixed · ages 9–18 · with sixth formSuffolk, East of England · Haverhill CB9 0LBTrust: Unity Schools PartnershipSchool website
Pupils on roll
82of 94 places
Free school meals
30.5%
Year 11 cohort 2025
13
Ofsted
Standards maintained, 9 October 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Of the 11 pupils who finished Year 11 at Churchill Special Free School in 2023, 9% stayed on in Churchill Special Free School’s own sixth form (Suffolk average 39%), 91% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 34.1 against 46.1 across England and 42.8 in Suffolk, with 15% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Every pupil in the 2023 cohort went on to a sustained destination, against 92% across England.

Almost every leaver found a sustained destination: only 0% were not in education, work or training six months on, against 6% nationally.

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.

This school
Suffolk
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThis schoolSuffolkEngland
Pupils in the cohort117,591607,348
Any sustained destination100%93%92%
Stayed in education100%87%86%
— school sixth form9%39%34%
— sixth form college0%5%13%
— further education college91%42%37%
— other education0%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%3%3%
Employment0%3%3%
No sustained destination0%5%6%
Destination unknown0%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

MeasureThis schoolSuffolkEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)34.142.846.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths15%40%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths39%61%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%27%41%
EBacc average point score1.603.704.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort23%25%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils30.834.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils46.750.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language0%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
Physics13100%23%15%46%54%
Biology13100%23%8%45%69%
Food Preparation and Nutrition13100%8%0%21%77%
Geography13100%41%8%25%69%
Mathematics1292%88%8%22%75%
English Language1185%89%9%20%73%
Fine Art1077%9%0%28%60%
Japanese18%0%53%
Computer Science18%13%30%
Physical Education18%11%24%

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.