Wayland Academy
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Norfolk
Merton Road, Thetford, IP25 6BA
65
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 11/07/2023
Application demand
85%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
94.4%
12.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
564
Capacity used
Has space75%
750 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
85%
1st preference success rate
105 of 123 families who put it first got an offer
113
Places offered
150
Total applications
1.3
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 123 | 105 | ● 85% |
| 2nd preference | 18 | 8 | ● 44% |
| 3rd preference | 6 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 4th preference | 3 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 150 | 113 | 75% |
1st preference success by year
Norfolk lets families list 4 preferences. 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
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Lucy Austin
- Address
- Merton Road, Watton, Thetford, IP25 6BA
- Phone
- 01953881514
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Ward / constituency
- Watton · Mid Norfolk
- Area
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 137949
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 28% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 21% | — | — |
| SEN support | 9% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: INSPIRATION TRUST
564 pupils · 750 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
11 July 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 581 pupils
Attendance
94.4%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
5.6%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
12.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.4%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.1%
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 | 45.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.61 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 48% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 63% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.19 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 52 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 63.2% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 79.2% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 57.5% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.89 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 106 | — |
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+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics | 106 | 3% | 49% | 76% | |
| Mathematics | 106 | 30% | 71% | 84% | |
| English Language | 106 | 23% | 58% | 79% | |
| English Literature | 105 | 20% | 70% | 87% | |
| Combined Science | 87 | 16% | 54% | 80% | |
| Geography | 77 | 17% | 53% | 65% | |
| French | 55 | 13% | 62% | 75% | |
| History | 34 | 32% | 44% | 59% | |
| Social Studies | 28 | 14% | 46% | 50% | |
| Physical Education | 27 | 0% | 37% | 63% | |
| Art and Design | 26 | 12% | 65% | 85% | |
| Business | 23 | 9% | 35% | 65% |
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 Norfolk 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.