Debenham High School
Secondary · Stowmarket · IP14 6BL
Data updated
Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system
This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.
Inspected 2 March 2023
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
714 pupils · 114% of 625 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Free school meals
- 14% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 136416
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 146 families named it first for 141 Year 7 places, 1.04 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 10.177 miles; distance decided places in 3 of the 4 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2023 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 2 March 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
1.04 first-choice applications per place141 places offered · 146 first-choice applications · oversubscribed
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 10.177 miles for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7
Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 10.177 miles
measured in a straight line.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Stowmarket school admissions · Suffolk school admissions
GCSE results (2024/2025)
138 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025
Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Schools with a similar intake
Attainment 8, 2024/2025
On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.
They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Madeley High School | 49.5 | |
| Bowland High | 47.8 | |
| Ryedale School | 51.7 | |
| Linton Village College | 52.4 | |
| St James' Catholic High School | 51.1 | |
| Burscough Priory Academy | 48.8 | |
| St Bede's Catholic High School | 55 | |
| Healing Academy | 51 | |
| Biddulph High School | 43.3 | |
| Penwortham Girls' High School | 52.9 | |
| Broughton High School | 59.3 | |
| Sexey's School | 51.5 |
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 90% (Suffolk 77%, England 59%) · Any other White background 3% (Suffolk 7%, England 7%) · Not recorded 2% (Suffolk 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Suffolk 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Suffolk 2%, England 2%) · Black African 1% (Suffolk 2%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Suffolk 1%, England 1%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
3.29 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Suffolk: 30.98 suspensions and 0.34 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
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Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
95% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 2% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
64% of teachers took sickness absence, 3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,345; 8.2% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (6%) · supplies and services 12% (11%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £411,000; in-year balance -£33,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
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Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Where pupils go after GCSEs
Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.
Inspection history since 2015
- 2 March 2023: Good
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 8/10less deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 34.5% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 15.9% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 36.2% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 13.2% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 46.6% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 72.8% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 12.5% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 14.3% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 50.8% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 4.9% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 29.3% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 10.1% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01030048 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £295,00073 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £242,500–£385,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
No collision was reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025.
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 0a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 0a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted
Nearby schools
- Sir Robert Hitcham Church of England Voluntary Aided School
- Stonham Aspal Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
- Helmingham Primary School and Nursery
- Wetheringsett Church of England Primary School
- Bedfield Church of England Primary School
- Earl Soham Community Primary School
- Thorndon Church of England Primary School
- Occold Primary School