Bungay High School, Bungay

Ofsted's report card from its 3 March 2026 inspection grades Bungay High School on 7 areas: 6 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Expected standard. "Pupils progress well through the planned curriculum."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The curriculum is broad, ambitious and increasingly coherent."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders know vulnerable pupils well and act promptly to meet their needs."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders understand the school's strengths and priorities well."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The personal development programme is coherent, age‑appropriate and responsive to pupils' needs."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "The post-16 provision supports students with a wide range of starting points to progress well."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "While there are many positive examples of improvements to pupils' attendance, overall attendance is too low and persistent absence remains too high."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue with their training and support for staff to ensure pupils practise and secure their new learning"; "Leaders should support staff to apply the school's behaviour policy consistently and effectively in lesson and social times to further reduce low-level disruption"; "Leaders should continue their work to support pupils to attend regularly, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities".

In 2026, pupils at Bungay High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.4 in Suffolk and 47 across England.

32% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 40% in Suffolk and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 41.7.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.08: pupils made about average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 30.5, against 45.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 152 families put Bungay High School as their first choice and 236 named it as one of their preferences, for 157 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

Bungay High School is one of 11 schools run by East Anglian Schools Trust Ltd, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.6 in 2024/25.

186 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bungay High School (as of April 2026): 61% would recommend the school, 54% say their child is happy there and 35% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (63%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (35%).

Of the 152 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 52% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

Of the 42 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 29% went on to university or other higher education, 10% to apprenticeships and 45% into work. 9% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

4.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

Bungay High School has a resourced provision for hearing impairment: 8 places, 3 pupils on roll.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Bungay High School.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is High School (outside), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 20 crimes within a mile of the school, most often criminal damage and arson, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Suffolk (32).

In 2024/25, Bungay High School issued 316 suspensions, 31.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 12 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Bungay High School are Bungay Primary School (0.6 miles), St Edmund's RC Primary School and Nursery (0.7 miles), Earsham Church of England Primary Academy (1 mile) and Ditchingham Church of England Primary Academy (1.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.