Newmarket Academy Review 2026: Community secondary with distinctive racing links

Newmarket Academy is an 11 to 16 mixed secondary serving the Newmarket area, with a clear emphasis on values-led culture and practical pathways alongside GCSE study. It sits within Unity Schools Partnership, which shapes much of the school’s direction and professional development offer. The latest Ofsted inspection in July 2023 judged the school Good overall, with Behaviour and attitudes graded Requires Improvement.

A defining local feature is the Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project, launched in September 2016, which connects learning and careers education to the town’s horseracing economy and the breadth of roles around it. Alongside this, the on site Polaris specialist unit supports students in Years 7 to 11 with communication and interaction needs, blending specialist intervention with mainstream access where appropriate.

The school’s stated values are straightforward and consistently used as organising principles: Respectful, Responsible, and Resilient, under an ethos of “Be the best you can be.” In practice, that tends to translate into a culture that asks students to take ownership of routines and choices, with leadership opportunities framed as part of personal development rather than an optional extra.

Leadership stability has been an important theme in recent years. Martin Witter is named as Headteacher on the school’s staff listing, and the most recent Ofsted report notes the headteacher’s appointment in December 2021. This matters for parents because it anchors how consistent the behaviour policy, curriculum expectations, and support structures feel over time.

There is also a visible emphasis on inclusion in the way the school describes student voice. The student leadership structure includes groups such as School Council, Ambassadors, Reading Ambassadors, Inclusion Ambassadors, Sports Leaders, Mental Health Ambassadors, and Digital Leaders. For many families, that breadth is a reassuring signal that leadership is not reserved for a narrow academic or sporting subset.

On FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking, Newmarket Academy is ranked 2517th in England and 1st in the Newmarket local area (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The Attainment 8 score is 42.5. The Progress 8 score is -0.5, which indicates students, on average, made below average progress from their starting points across eight subjects. EBacc measures are also a current development area: 10.6% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc, and the school’s EBacc average point score is 3.91.

The practical implication is that outcomes are mixed across the headline measures. Families comparing options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to see how these figures sit against nearby schools, then sense check the picture against your child’s learning profile and motivation.

The school positions curriculum as carefully designed and linked to its values, with an explicit focus on building successful learners, confident individuals, and responsible citizens. Home learning expectations are also set out clearly, with work set fortnightly at Key Stage 3 and weekly at Key Stage 4, using an online platform for assignment and tracking.

What stands out is the connection between learning and employability in a town with a distinctive economic identity. The Godolphin Beacon Project is framed as a partnership with Newmarket’s largest employer, designed to broaden awareness of local career routes and to build employability skills through programmes aligned to Gatsby Benchmarks. For students who thrive when learning feels relevant, this can make careers education feel concrete rather than generic.

The key improvement lever, based on the latest inspection evidence, is consistency. The Ofsted report identifies variability in how precisely some teachers match and adapt activities to meet a range of needs, and it also highlights uneven application of the behaviour policy. For parents, this is the sort of issue to probe directly at an open event: ask how teaching is coached, how routines are reinforced, and what happens when expectations are not met.

There is no sixth form, so progression at 16 is a major transition point. The school’s approach to careers education is therefore central, not peripheral, and the Godolphin Beacon Project provides a particularly localised pathway lens around the racing industry and adjacent roles.

For many students, the most helpful preparation is likely to be breadth rather than a single track: clear guidance on post 16 routes, a realistic understanding of entry requirements, and supported decision making for those weighing sixth form against college or apprenticeships. Where a child’s needs sit around communication and interaction, Polaris also indicates a structured model for tailored support alongside mainstream participation.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated by Suffolk County Council (normal year of entry). The school’s admissions page states that the application must be received by 31 October, and that National Offer Day is 1 March, or the next working day for secondary applications.

Open events appear to follow a familiar pattern. For September 2026 entry, an open evening was scheduled for Thursday 18 September 2025. As timings can shift year to year, treat this as a helpful indicator that open evenings typically run in September, then check the school’s current events listings for the latest details.

If you are weighing the likelihood of securing a place based on where you live, use the FindMySchool Map Search to check distance carefully. Even in areas where admissions are not defined by a simple catchment circle, distance and oversubscription criteria can matter, and small differences can be decisive in tighter years.

Pastoral support is presented as part of the school’s broader safeguarding and wellbeing work, including specific guidance for families around issues such as online safety and support for young carers. The young carers information is especially clear about how caring responsibilities can affect emotions and school life, which is useful for families seeking an environment that recognises pressures outside the classroom.

The second important anchor is safeguarding. Inspectors confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective, with systems for staff training, reporting concerns, and working with local services.

While the school’s clubs page itself is light on detail, the wider site gives a clearer sense of the enrichment shape. Educational visits are positioned as a mix of local visits, day trips, residential opportunities, and overseas visits, with Duke of Edinburgh also referenced as part of the wider offer.

Student leadership is one of the more defined enrichment pillars because it is broken into named strands. For a child who gains confidence through responsibility, groups such as Digital Leaders, Reading Ambassadors, and Mental Health Ambassadors provide structured routes to contribute.

The Alumni Programme is another practical strand, inviting former students back to support and inspire current students. In a school without sixth form, this kind of near peer insight can be especially useful at Key Stage 4, when decisions become more consequential.

The compulsory school day starts at 8:30am and ends at 3:10pm, structured around five teaching periods plus form time, break, and lunch.

There is no nursery provision and no sixth form. For transport planning, families typically prioritise safe independent travel routes for older students and realistic timing around the 8:30am start. If wraparound or supervised pre school arrival arrangements are important for your household, it is worth checking directly what is available, as this is not set out clearly in the published school day information.

• Behaviour consistency. The latest inspection outcome includes Behaviour and attitudes graded Requires Improvement, and the report highlights that staff do not always apply the behaviour policy consistently. This is improving in the report’s narrative, but parents should probe how expectations are reinforced day to day.

• Teaching adaptation. The inspection evidence points to variability in how well work is adapted to meet a range of needs, which can matter a great deal for students who need careful scaffolding or stretch. Ask how staff are trained and coached to improve consistency.

• Post 16 transition. With no sixth form, the Year 11 to post 16 move is unavoidable. Families should ask early how guidance is delivered, how applications are supported, and how the school works with local providers.

• Specialist provision alongside mainstream. Polaris is a significant asset for some students, but it is a distinct pathway with its own admission considerations. Parents of children with communication and interaction needs should ask how integration is handled, and what a typical timetable can look like.

Newmarket Academy is a mainstream 11 to 16 secondary with a clear values framework, strong local partnership identity through the Godolphin Beacon Project, and a structured inclusion story through Polaris. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking places it in the middle performance band nationally, while local ranking suggests it is a key option in its immediate area.

Who it suits most is a family looking for a community secondary where careers education is grounded in local opportunity, and where student leadership and inclusion are given explicit structure. The key question to resolve is consistency, especially around behaviour expectations and classroom adaptation, as highlighted in the most recent inspection evidence.