Ipswich Academy Review 2026: A Paradigm Trust secondary focused on consistency and culture

Ipswich Academy sits in the Whitehouse area of Ipswich and serves a large mixed intake from Year 7 through to post 16. The immediate priorities are clear, steady classroom routines, predictable behaviour expectations, and a consistent teaching experience so students do not lose learning time when staffing changes. Those priorities are well aligned with what families tend to ask for first: calm lessons, strong attendance habits, and clear support when a student is struggling.

Leadership is also in a period of change. The school announced Miss Sam Torr as its new Principal in December 2025, with a stated focus from January on improving students’ learning through close partnership with families. The trust context matters too, with the school operating as part of Paradigm Trust, so improvement planning and governance sit both at school level and at trust level.

The culture leans towards structure. The behaviour approach is designed around an orderly learning climate, with a staged system of classroom warnings and consequences, and clear expectations that learning time is protected. The school publishes a detailed sequence of consequences, including internal provision when students are removed from lessons, and after school detentions in defined circumstances. For families, the implication is straightforward: this is a school that signals predictability and clarity, particularly for students who benefit from firm routines.

Community identity is reinforced through a house system. Students and staff are assigned to one of three houses, Integrity House, Community House, and Excellence House, with house points used to recognise work and contribution across the year. Done well, this creates a low friction way to reward small daily wins, which can be especially helpful when motivation dips in the mid years.

Wellbeing support is visible in the way pastoral and inclusion structures are described publicly. The school sets out a model where learning mentors provide year group support, alongside a range of mental health support options including mental health first aiders and counsellor access. The school also describes a dedicated Inclusion team focused on practical support for families, rather than treating home and school as separate spheres.

The latest Ofsted inspection in May 2024 rated the school Requires Improvement overall, with Personal Development graded Good.

At GCSE level, the clearest picture comes from Attainment 8 and Progress 8. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 35.7, and the Progress 8 score is -0.53. These figures indicate that, on average, students have not achieved as strongly as they should relative to their starting points, which usually shows up as uneven outcomes across subjects and groups. (All GCSE performance figures in this section use the official metrics as presented in the FindMySchool dataset.)

Rankings reinforce that context. Ranked 3,506th in England and 16th in Ipswich for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), results sit below England average overall. The school’s position corresponds to the lower performance band nationally, which broadly aligns with the bottom 40% of schools in England for this measure.

Subject breadth at Key Stage 4 is an important factor for many families. The average EBacc average point score is 3.11, compared with an England average of 4.08. In practice, that usually means fewer students are taking a full EBacc pathway and, for some students, the subject mix may narrow earlier than families expect.

Post 16 performance data is more limited in published datasets for this school. The sixth form is in place, but recent A level grade breakdown figures are not available in the FindMySchool dataset, and the school does not appear in the A level ranking table there. For parents focused on sixth form outcomes, that makes it particularly important to ask directly about cohort size, subject availability, and recent destinations during open events.

Parents comparing local options can use FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages to view GCSE measures side by side using the Comparison Tool, which helps put a Progress 8 score like -0.53 into a local context rather than judging it in isolation.

Curriculum intent is set out in a fairly traditional way at Key Stage 3, with clear subject coverage and defined time allocations. That matters because the challenge here is less about what is planned, and more about ensuring students experience the curriculum consistently across classes.

A practical example is the school’s approach to core subjects and assessment. In mathematics, for instance, the published course outline explicitly sets out topic coverage and the structure of examination papers, including calculator and non calculator components. For families, the implication is that expectations are explicit and revision can be planned early, but the quality of day to day delivery will be the deciding factor in whether students convert that structure into strong grades.

Support for students who need it is described as layered. The school explains that students with the highest needs may access a Support Centre for smaller group learning, and in some cases 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 tuition alongside life skills work. That approach can work well when it is tightly integrated with mainstream lessons, so students do not miss the same content repeatedly. Families considering the school for a child with SEND should ask how strategies in pupil profiles are checked for consistent use across classrooms, and how teachers are coached to embed them.

Where Students Go Next

Ipswich Academy supports multiple post 16 routes, which is important given the breadth of the local education landscape in Ipswich. Careers education is positioned as a core strand of personal development, with information and guidance covering sixth forms, further education, apprenticeships, employment, and volunteering. The careers programme also states that most pupils will have meaningful encounters with a range of providers, and at least one meaningful university visit by the time they leave.

The school also publishes a provider access statement that lists examples of destinations and partner providers, including a mix of sixth forms, colleges, and training routes. For families, the implication is positive: the post 16 narrative is not presented as one size fits all. The strongest next step is to ask how this translates for individual students, for example how work experience is arranged, how applications are supported, and what guidance is offered if a student changes direction late in Year 11.

There are no published Oxbridge or overall university progression figures available in the current dataset for this school, and the publicly available school materials emphasise routes and partnerships more than headline percentages. That is not necessarily a weakness, but it does mean families who want hard destination statistics will need to request them directly.

Year 7 entry for September 2026 is coordinated by Suffolk Local Authority, with the national closing date stated as 31 October 2025, and offers issued on the national offer date of 1 March 2026 (or the next working day). Ipswich Academy’s published admission number (PAN) is 210 for each year group from Year 7 to Year 11.

Oversubscription is managed through published criteria, including priority for looked after and previously looked after children, then siblings, and then distance within the catchment priority sequence, using a straight line measurement method (“as the crow flies”) calculated by the local authority. The school’s own admissions page signposts families to Suffolk County Council information for catchment detail and makes the admission arrangements documents available.

Demand is close to capacity in the most recent published admissions dataset available here: 166 applications for 163 offers, with the entry route recorded as oversubscribed. This is not the extreme competition seen at some high demand secondaries, but it does suggest that families should still treat admission as competitive in some years, particularly if local demographics shift.

If your shortlist depends on proximity, families should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check their home to school distance precisely, then compare this with the school’s admissions criteria and the local authority’s measurement approach.

Pastoral support is described as practical, not abstract. The school highlights learning mentors assigned by year group, positioned as a front line for day to day issues that can interfere with learning, and it also references mental health first aiders and counsellor access. That matters because academic improvement is often inseparable from attendance, emotional regulation, and home stability.

Behaviour systems are explicit and public, which can be reassuring for families who want clarity. The staged classroom consequences and the link between sanctions and house points are laid out in a way that students can understand. The practical question for parents is consistency, not design. When teachers apply expectations in the same way across departments, students experience the school as fair; when they do not, behaviour escalates and learning time is lost.

The same inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective, which is a critical baseline for any family weighing a school that is working through improvement priorities.

Enrichment is framed around both sport and personal development. A clear example is the Duke of Edinburgh programme, which appears as a regular session in the extracurricular schedule. The implication is a route for students to build confidence and independence, and a useful structure for those who respond well to long term goals.

Sport clubs are also specific rather than generic. The school lists activities such as basketball and dodgeball, a fitness suite club, and year group football options, with sessions mapped to days and times. This kind of transparency helps families plan transport and commitments, and it also signals that enrichment is meant to be routine, not occasional.

Trips and cultural experiences matter too. The Ofsted report references the Hinterland project, including funded trips abroad, which can be significant for students who might not otherwise access that kind of cultural and social opportunity. The key question for parents is scale, which year groups participate, how often, and how the experience is integrated into curriculum and personal development goals.

The published school day timetable is detailed by day. Registration is at 08:40, and students are expected on site by 08:38 to be on time. The standard finish time is 15:00 on most days, with a later finish of 16:00 on Wednesday. This matters for after school clubs, detentions, and family logistics, particularly if students rely on public transport.

Uniform expectations are clearly stated, and the school provides an equipment checklist so families can reduce day to day friction around forgotten basics. For transport planning, Ipswich is well served by local bus routes and a mainline rail station in the town, but families should check the most reliable route for the Whitehouse area given the 08:38 arrival expectation.

• Consistency of teaching. The improvement story depends heavily on reducing disruption from extended cover arrangements and ensuring students experience the planned curriculum in every subject, every week.

• Behaviour and language expectations. The behaviour system is explicit, but it relies on consistent adult follow through. Families should ask how the school is reducing time out of lessons and how it is tackling unkind or offensive language when it occurs.

• EBacc breadth at Key Stage 4. EBacc participation and outcomes have been relatively low, which can narrow options for some students if subject choices restrict later pathways. Ask how modern languages and separate sciences are being strengthened for students who want that route.

• Sixth form outcomes visibility. The school has post 16 provision, but published outcome detail is limited in current datasets. Families considering staying on should ask for recent subject level results and the destination mix for the most recent cohorts.

Ipswich Academy is a large state secondary with a clear set of priorities: consistent teaching, calm routines, and a culture where behaviour systems are predictable for students and families. Leadership changes in late 2025 suggest renewed focus on strengthening learning outcomes and rebuilding confidence through home school partnership.

Who it suits: families who want clear expectations, structured systems, and visible pastoral and inclusion support, and who are prepared to engage closely with the school as it drives improvement. The key decision point is whether the school can deliver consistency across classrooms, because that is what will ultimately shift GCSE outcomes and daily experience.