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Copleston High School

Secondary · Ipswich · IP4 5HD

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 7 December 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,930 pupils · 108% of 1,780 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
19.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
15.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.copleston.suffolk.sch.uk
URN
136827

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 345 families named it first for 319 Year 7 places, 1.08 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1.166 miles; distance decided places in 4 of the 4 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2023 to 2026. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 7 December 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.08 first-choice applications per place

319 places offered · 345 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

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 1.166 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1.166 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

320 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
46.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
70%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
48.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.2
England 4.1

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.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
31.9
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school46.9
Median of its 12 closest peers49.7
Suffolk average43.3
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Glenthorne High SchoolSutton · 76 miles awayStrong standard61.6
Graveney SchoolLondon · 72 miles awayOutstanding63.9
Christopher Whitehead Language CollegeWorcester · 146 miles awayGood43.8
Kennet SchoolThatcham · 114 miles awayGood46.5
Cleeve SchoolCheltenham · 138 miles awayGood49.9
West Hatch High SchoolChigwell · 57 miles awayGood49.5
Salesian School, ChertseyChertsey · 87 miles awayOutstanding64.9
Wickersley School and Sports CollegeRotherham · 140 miles awayGood49
Cheam High SchoolSutton · 77 miles awayGood50.7
The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form CollegeSwindon · 133 miles awayGood53.5
Bourne AcademyBourne · 83 miles awayGood47.2
Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolBolton · 190 miles awayGood49.2

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: SEN unit.

SEN unit
13 of 24 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 67% (Suffolk 77%, England 59%) · Any other White background 8% (Suffolk 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Suffolk 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 4% (Suffolk 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Suffolk 1%, England 3%) · Not recorded 3% (Suffolk 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 3% (Suffolk 1%, England 4%) · Black African 3% (Suffolk 2%, England 5%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Suffolk 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Suffolk 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Suffolk 1%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Suffolk 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
18.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

14.46 suspensions per 100 pupils and 6 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

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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

Pupils per qualified teacher
21.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

93% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 1% moved to another state school · 6% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 1.1% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

67% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.1 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 £52,714; 7.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,594
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 68% (77%) · premises 9% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 19% (11%) · educational supplies 15% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (1%) · catering 0% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £2,625,000; in-year balance +£1,782,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
95%
Continuing in education
90%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
45%
Apprenticeship
9%
Employment
32%
Any sustained destination
93%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

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)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher31.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15%18.1%
In managerial or professional work34.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways8.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier86.9%62.3%
Social housing2%17.1%
Privately rented11%20.5%
Detached houses34.1%22.9%
Flats2.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms15.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van12.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01030004 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£265,000480 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£205,000–£328,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (100)£374,000
Semi-detached (207)£275,000
Terraced (126)£212,500
Flat (47)£135,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.88 km, 2026 entry): 1,495 sales, median £260,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

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

Child pedestrian casualties
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
7an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
17an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
6an urban school averages 6.1

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