Downham Market Academy

General Information

Address: Bexwell Road, Downham Market, PE38 9LL
Phone: 01366389100
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr Natalie Paine
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Number of pupils: 1329
School capacity: 1567
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 338
% eligible for free school meals: 27.0%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 24.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 60 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 59 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 28 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 23 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 43.8
Data year: 2024/25

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

Ranked #5 of 8 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#3St Clement's High School45.3
#4King Edward VII Academy44.4
#5Downham Market Academy43.8
#6Smithdon High School40.3
#7King's Lynn Academy39.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1Springwood High School46.9
#2Marshland High School45.5
#3St Clement's High School45.3
#4King Edward VII Academy44.4
#5Downham Market Academy43.8
#6Smithdon High School40.3
#7King's Lynn Academy39.1
#8Iceni Secondary Academy39.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 78.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Science Double Award
English Literature
English Language
Maths (General)
Geography
History
French Language
Art & Design
Spanish
Speech & Drama
D & T
Sports Studies
Media Studies
Ancient History
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Religious Studies
Turkish
Portuguese
Arabic
Polish
Latin

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Ranked #1 of 6 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#1Downham Market AcademyGood
#2King's Lynn AcademyGood
#3Marshland High SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

#1Downham Market AcademyGood
#2King's Lynn AcademyGood
#3Marshland High SchoolGood
#4Smithdon High SchoolGood
#5Springwood High SchoolGood
#6St Clement's High SchoolGood

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £7,085 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #6 of 8 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#4Marshland High School£7,626
#5St Clement's High School£7,434
#6Downham Market Academy£7,085
#7King Edward VII Academy£6,953
#8Springwood High School£6,520

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1Iceni Secondary Academy£8,353
#2Smithdon High School£8,108
#3King's Lynn Academy£7,851
#4Marshland High School£7,626
#5St Clement's High School£7,434
#6Downham Market Academy£7,085
#7King Edward VII Academy£6,953
#8Springwood High School£6,520

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

General Information

Behaviour

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered