Great Heath Academy, Bury St Edmunds
Great Heath Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Bury St Edmunds, part of Academy Transformation Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 18th-highest of the 26 schools in Bury St Edmunds with published results, and 11,173rd of 14,452 across England. It was 70% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Suffolk (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Great Heath Academy in detail
Results
In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils at Great Heath Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 71% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 72% in Suffolk and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (72% in reading, 60% in maths).
Getting a place at Great Heath Academy
For September 2026 entry, 49 families put Great Heath Academy as their first choice and 92 named it as one of their preferences, for 52 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Great Heath Academy are St Mary's Church of England Academy (0.3 miles, Requires improvement, 53% reading, 49% maths); Beck Row Primary Academy (1.6 miles, Good, 79% reading, 75% maths); West Row Academy (2.5 miles, 81% reading, 76% maths); and The Pines Primary School (2.9 miles, Good, 86% reading, 71% maths).
Great Heath Academy's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
St Mary's Church of England AcademyBeck Row Primary AcademyWest Row AcademyThe Pines Primary School
The trust
Great Heath Academy is one of 21 schools run by Academy Transformation Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
In 2026, 94 pupils (21.5%) received SEN support and 12 (2.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Great Heath Academy.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Crossbills (adjacent), 200 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 87 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Suffolk (32), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Great Heath Academy issued 17 suspensions, 3.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
21.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 72% to 64% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 60% to 71% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 60% to 68% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.1
Avg class size
27.0
Infant (KS1)
25.6
KS2
15
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Great Heath Academy
Before and after school care
Great Heath Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Suffolk
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Great Heath Academy.
- Cheerful Champs - St Marys, Mildenhall490m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Great Heath Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Suffolk's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Great Heath Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Great Heath Academy is in Suffolk; for families living there:
Apply to Suffolk for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 9
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 7 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Suffolk is 4 (the median across 365 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Great Heath Academy
Will you get a place at Great Heath Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Great Heath Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Great Heath Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Great Heath Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Suffolk, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Great Heath Academy for 2016 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Suffolk got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
70%
Available places
439 pupils
626 places
187 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bury St Edmunds
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bury St Edmunds
Across Suffolk council
Places available
8,806
Applications
6,492
Got 1st preference
94.9%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All primary applications across Suffolk council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
94
SEN Support
12
EHC Plans
24.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
438
Total Pupils
210
Boys
228
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
20
Teachers
21.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,387
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£4,982
Per pupil
£2431k
Total funding
£133k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.4%
Overall absence
9.4%
Persistent absence
405
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Great Heath Academy
Questions parents ask about Great Heath Academy
What are SATs results like at Great Heath Academy?
Of the pupils at Great Heath Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 64% reached the expected standard in reading and 71% did so in maths.
What is Great Heath Academy's Ofsted rating?
Great Heath Academy was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2024.
What is the catchment area for Great Heath Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Great Heath Academy is oversubscribed, Suffolk allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Great Heath Academy?
Great Heath Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 70% of its 626 places.
How big are the classes at Great Heath Academy?
Classes at Great Heath Academy average 26.1 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Great Heath Academy?
Great Heath Academy has around 438 pupils on roll. 22% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Great Heath Academy?
4.4% of sessions were missed at Great Heath Academy in 2024/25. 9.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Great Heath Academy?
Apply through Suffolk's coordinated admissions process, naming Great Heath Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Great Heath Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Great Heath Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Great Heath Academy: Cheerful Champs - St Marys, Mildenhall (490m away, registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Great Heath Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 7 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 2 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Suffolk is 4 (the median across 365 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Great Heath Academy?
Great Heath Academy is at Girton Close, Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 7PT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)