Samuel Ward Academy

GCSE results 2024/25

On Attainment 8 this school is in the lower half of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the bottom quarter.

Progress 8 2023/24

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry

D

Average points per entry

21.1

England average 32.3

A level students

49

Pupils

Pupils on roll

1076

Places

1250

How full

86% full — 1076 of 1250 places taken

Girls / boys

540 / 536

Overall absence

10%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent

26%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years

19%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language

14%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan

1%

England 3.5%

On SEN support

11%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training

95%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education

89%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship

4%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form

28%

No sustained destination

4%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort

227

After sixth form

Went to university

37%

England 50%

In education, work or training

81%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship

6%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort

78

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went on to a degree

66%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort

61

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for West Suffolk 020D, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree

17%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications

30%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home

53%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing

24%

England 17%

Households with no car

24%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive

37%

England 39.9%

School details

Type

Academy converter

Phase

Secondary

Ages

Ages 11–18

Gender

Mixed

Admissions

Non-selective

Religious character

None

Sixth form

Yes

Nursery

No

Boarding

Day school

Trust

UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP

Headteacher

Headteacher: Tom Johnston

Local authority

Suffolk

Ward

Haverhill East

Constituency

West Suffolk

URN

136322

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.