Hethersett Academy, Norwich

In its own words: "Our vision is that every student achieves their best - this, of course, includes their academic results, but we also highly prize developing each student as a capable and valuable member of the community."

From the headteacher's welcome: "I am delighted to be the Principal of Hethersett Academy, an Ofsted 'Outstanding' school that's judged to be at the top level in all areas. Our GCSE results are consistently among the highest in Norfolk and this year we saw our best ever results, with 77% grades 9-5 and 90% of grades 9-4 across English and Maths in 2022!"

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include swimming and orchestra.

In 2026, pupils at Hethersett Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 55.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45 in Norfolk and 47 across England.

71% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Norfolk and 47% in England.

That is down from 59 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 1.13: pupils made well above 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 40.6, against 59 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Spanish.

For September 2026 entry, 293 families put Hethersett Academy as their first choice and 568 named it as one of their preferences, for 279 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 24 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Hethersett Academy are Wymondham High Academy (3.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.9); City Academy Norwich (3.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 36.2); Ormiston Victory Academy (3.7 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 42.6); and City of Norwich School, An Ormiston Academy (3.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.2).

Hethersett Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Hethersett Academy is one of 18 schools run by Inspiration Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.5 in 2024/25.

Of the 208 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 90% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 37% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

14% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Wymondham Rail Station, about 3.6 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Queens Head (adjacent), 110 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Hethersett Academy stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Hethersett Academy issued 107 suspensions, 8.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Hethersett Academy are Hethersett VC Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Hethersett Woodside Primary & Nursery School (0.5 miles) and Little Melton Primary School (1.2 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.