Ipswich’s state schools trail 76% of towns in England on results
57% of Ipswich’s primary pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, below both Suffolk’s towns (61%) and towns in England (62%). 53 state-funded schools are located in Ipswich’s built-up area. Ipswich grades C− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #21 of 34 in Suffolk. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Ipswich’s secondary results beat 29% of English towns; its primary results beat 27%. 57% of the city’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 58% across Suffolk. The spread between primaries is wide: 82% at St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Ipswich, 26% at Ranelagh Primary School. Every school’s result ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Ipswich grades C− for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (57% meet the standard)Better than 27% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (42.9 and 39%)Better than 29% of towns in England
Each of Ipswich’s 31 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Ipswich’s 8 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolSuffolk’s average school
The primary figure: 31 primaries in the town, 5,532 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 8 secondaries in the town, 1,567 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Ipswich’s 53 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Ipswich’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table. The 8 secondaries are named.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 1% at St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Ipswich to 61% at The Willows Primary School. Against schools with the same intake, St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Ipswich does best: 82% with 1% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 68%. 13 of 31 primaries and 0 of 8 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Ipswich
Suffolk County Council handles applications for every state school in Ipswich, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 8 of Ipswich’s 41 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 8 schools are at or over it.
Handford Hall114%
Copleston High108%
Springfield Infant incl. nursery106%
Murrayfield incl. nursery106%
The Oaks incl. nursery103%
Britannia101%
St John's101%
St Mary's100%
Chantry99%
Sidegate98%
Show all 41 schools
Northgate High98%
Springfield Junior98%
St Margaret's CEVAP School, Ipswich98%
Dale Hall98%
Halifax97%
St Matthew's97%
Sprites97%
Clifford incl. nursery96%
St Mark's96%
St Alban's95%
Cliff Lane incl. nursery94%
Stoke High94%
St Helen's incl. nursery93%
Castle Hill Infant incl. nursery93%
The Beeches incl. nursery91%
Ranelagh incl. nursery89%
Rushmere Hall incl. nursery89%
Westbourne88%
Ormiston Endeavour88%
Whitehouse incl. nursery87%
Broke Hall incl. nursery87%
Gusford82%
Rose Hill82%
Ravenswood incl. nursery82%
Morland incl. nursery81%
Hillside incl. nursery80%
Castle Hill Junior80%
Ipswich80%
Piper's Vale incl. nursery76%
St Pancras73%
The Willows66%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
53 state schools in Ipswich
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Ipswich’s schoolsA4B13C15D714 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 2Good 18Report card 6Requires improvement 2Ungraded inspection only 23No published grade 2
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 6 of Ipswich’s 53 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Asset EducationThe Oaks, Cliff Lane, St Helen's, The Beeches, Castle Hill Junior, Castle Hill Infant
6
2,266
BB+BCC−
Raedwald TrustParkside, Alderwood, First Base Ipswich, St Christopher's, Westbridge
5
5
—
Active Learning Trust LimitedChantry, Sidegate, Gusford, Hillside
Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Multi Academy TrustSt Alban's, St Mary's, St Mark's, St Pancras
4
1,532
C+A−AB−
Orwell Multi Academy TrustHalifax, Handford Hall, Springfield Infant, The Willows
4
1,315
B+BD−
Oxlip Learning PartnershipCopleston High, Britannia, Rose Hill
3
2,826
BB−D
Ormiston Academies TrustStoke High, Ormiston Endeavour, Thomas Wolsey Ormiston
3
1,709
DC−
Children's Endeavour TrustBroke Hall, Whitehouse, Springfield Junior
3
1,496
A−C−C
Eastern Education Group TrustOne Sixth Form College, Stone Lodge
2
2,579
—
Compass Partnership of SchoolsRushmere Hall, Ravenswood
2
891
BC−
St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy TrustSt Matthew's, Morland
2
765
C−D−
Unity Schools PartnershipThe Bridge, Sir Bobby Robson
2
317
—
Academy Transformation TrustWestbourne
1
989
C−
Penrose Learning TrustDale Hall
1
412
B−
Reach2 Academy TrustSprites
1
406
B−
Suffolk County CouncilNorthgate High, St Margaret's CEVAP School, Ipswich, Clifford, Ranelagh, St John's, Highfield Nursery
6
3,162
B+BC−D−A
After 16
Where Ipswich’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
4 of Ipswich’s 8 state secondaries have sixth forms: Copleston High, Ipswich, Northgate High and St Alban's. One Sixth Form College is a state 16–19 school in the city. Suffolk New College, a further-education college, is in the city.
Secondaries with a sixth form
4 of 8
state schools in Ipswich
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: Suffolk New College
Grammar schools in Suffolk
0
no selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Ipswich
Ipswich has 5 special schools (Sir Bobby Robson, Stone Lodge, The Bridge, Thomas Wolsey Ormiston and Woodbridge Road: 686 pupils) and 5 alternative provision schools, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Suffolk County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Suffolk County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
44th of 47 English towns and cities of 106,000 to 205,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Ipswich, and the top and bottom of the group.
Holbrook 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 5 mi
D
54%
40.1
Martlesham 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.2 mi
B
65%
46.1
Kesgrave has the best-graded schools nearby (B+). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Ipswich: 6% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Ipswich
Are schools in Ipswich good?
Ipswich’s state schools earn a C− against schools across England: primary results beat 27% of towns in England; secondary results beat 29% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Suffolk council.
What is the best secondary school in Ipswich?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Northgate High School: Attainment 8 of 49.5 and 51% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Ipswich?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Ipswich: 82% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Ipswich secondary schools have sixth forms?
4 of 8 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Ipswich?
Through Suffolk County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Ipswich are full?
8 of 41 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Ipswich?
53 open state-funded schools are located in Ipswich’s built-up area: 33 primary, 8 secondary and 12 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
