Debenham High School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Suffolk
Gracechurch Street, Stowmarket, IP14 6BL
79
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 02/03/2023
Application demand
86%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
93.3%
16.3% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
714
Capacity used
Over capacity114%
625 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
86%
1st preference success rate
133 of 155 families who put it first got an offer
135
Places offered
251
Total applications
1.9
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 155 | 133 | ● 86% |
| 2nd preference | 72 | 2 | ● 3% |
| 3rd preference | 24 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 251 | 135 | 54% |
1st preference success by year
Suffolk lets families list 3 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Simon Martin
- Address
- Gracechurch Street, Debenham, Stowmarket, IP14 6BL
- Phone
- 01728860213
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Ward / constituency
- Debenham · Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
- Area
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136416
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 14% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 1% | — | — |
| SEN support | 8% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: HEART OF SUFFOLK EDUCATION TRUST
714 pupils · 625 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
02 March 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 712 pupils
Attendance
93.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.7%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
16.3%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.4%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.2%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 55.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.76 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 59% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 84% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.55 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 55.7 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 68.1% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 84.8% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 26.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.74 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 138 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 137 | 28% | 74% | 87% | |
| English Language | 137 | 26% | 77% | 88% | |
| English Literature | 136 | 29% | 76% | 91% | |
| Religious Studies | 134 | 43% | 77% | 87% | |
| Combined Science | 111 | 14% | 54% | 80% | |
| Geography | 70 | 50% | 83% | 97% | |
| Design & Technology | 47 | 6% | 45% | 70% | |
| Physical Education | 44 | 18% | 52% | 84% | |
| History | 42 | 43% | 76% | 88% | |
| Art and Design | 33 | 24% | 82% | 94% | |
| Business | 32 | 44% | 81% | 97% | |
| French | 29 | 41% | 86% | 93% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Suffolk council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.