Schools in Leiston
Suffolk · 4 schools
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Suffolk (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
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.
Schools in Leiston (4)
- Compass Community School Aylward Park
Special · Ages 7-17 · Independent · IP16 4AX
Ofsted: Good (2025) - Alde Valley Academy
Secondary · Ages 11-16 · IP16 4BG
Ofsted: Requires Improvement (2024)Attainment 8: 33.9 (2026)
By type:Special schools in Leiston (1)Primary schools in Leiston (1)All-through schools in Leiston (1)Secondary schools in Leiston (1)
4
1 primary · 1 secondary
1,088
97% capacity used
0
0 outstanding · 0 good
1,118
30 spare places
Ofsted Ratings
Best Schools in Leiston
View the full league table - ranked by Ofsted, Progress 8, KS2 results and more
Best Schools in Suffolk
Compare all schools across the county
Area Performance (2026)
Attainment 8
23.4
GCSE Eng+Maths
14.3%
School Capacity & Demand
Housing Growth Detected
140 new homes approved nearby. This could generate an estimated +35 primary and +25 secondary pupils.
Source: MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years)
Primary Schools
91% occupied · 37 spare places
Secondary Schools
115% occupied · 85 over capacity
Questions parents ask about schools in Leiston
How many schools are there in Leiston?
Leiston has 4 open schools: 1 state primary, 1 state secondary or all-through, 1 independent and 1 special.
Source: DfE Get Information About Schools
Are there any Outstanding schools in Leiston?
None of the 3 graded schools in Leiston currently holds an Outstanding rating. 2 are rated Good, so 67% are Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.
Source: Ofsted
Are there grammar schools in Leiston?
No. None of the state secondary schools in Leiston selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.
Source: DfE Get Information About Schools
Do schools in Leiston have catchment areas?
Most state schools in Leiston have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, Suffolk allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.
How do I apply for a school place in Leiston?
Apply to Suffolk through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.