The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)
Wilderness Lane, Harleston, IP20 9DDOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) is an all-through school in Harleston for ages 3 to 16. It is one of the 453 schools in Norfolk. It ranks 41st of 53 secondary schools in Norfolk. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in June 2025, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 24 June 2025, report published 7 September 2025
This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years provision
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 24 June 2025
Pupils relish opportunities to 'live life in all its fullness'. From Nursery to Year 11, they know staff listen to and care for them. Children in early years settle quickly into calm, purposeful routines, while older pupils speak confidently about the support they receive from trusted staff. This enables pupils to feel happy and safe. The school has set high expectations for pupils' achievement through the curriculum and the quality of training to develop staff. This ambition is realised well in most areas of the school. In the past, pupils have not achieved as well as they should have by the end of Year 6. The school has taken effective action to address this and close gaps in pupils' knowledge. Behaviour is calm and respectful. Pupils understand the rules and routines and follow them well. They show kindness to one another and respond positively to staff guidance. When issues arise, staff act quickly and fairly. Pupils enjoy a wide range of enrichment opportunities. They grow vegetables in the early years garden, perform in town parades and take part in 'Tots to Teens', where older pupils support younger children. These experiences help pupils develop confidence, empathy and a strong sense of community.
What the school should improve
- Expectations of how writing should be taught are not consistently understood or applied by staff. As a result, pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to develop their writing across a range of subject-specific contexts well. This leads to too much variation in the quality of pupils' written work across the curriculum. The school should ensure that its whole-school approach to teaching writing is consistently applied, so that pupils are supported to produce high-quality writing.
- On occasions, teachers do not check pupils' understanding well enough. This means that pupils' misconceptions or gaps in knowledge are not always addressed as well as they could be. The school should ensure that staff diligently check pupils' understanding, both in lessons and through the quality of their work, so misconceptions can be quickly and effectively addressed.
Exam results
SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25
61 pupils took the tests
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
91 pupils in the year group
Pupil numbers and mix
824 pupils on roll, with places for 973
Schools near The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stradbroke High School | 6 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 44.3 |
| Long Stratton High School | 7 miles | Report card: Expected standard to strong standard | Attainment 8: 50.8 |
| Bungay High School | 7 miles | Report card: Needs attention to expected standard | Attainment 8: 41.7 |
| Diss High School | 8 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 46.6 |
| Hartismere School | 8 miles | Ofsted judgements: Good to outstanding | Attainment 8: 53.0 |
School details
- School type
- Academy converter
- Sector
- Academy
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH ST BENET'S MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Age range
- 3 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery classes
- Yes
- Headteacher
- Rob Connelly
- Phone
- 01379852561
- Address
- Wilderness Lane, Harleston, IP20 9DD
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- URN
- 149197
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.