City Academy Norwich Review 2026: A school rebuilding momentum, with strong SEND practice and clear routines

High expectations are the headline shift here. Since a change of trust and leadership in September 2022, the school has been working to reset culture, strengthen routines, and widen curriculum choice, while keeping a close eye on attendance and behaviour. The June 2024 inspection captured a school that had moved on from its previous Inadequate judgement, but where day to day teaching consistency, curriculum implementation and outcomes were still uneven.

Families weighing this option should read the school as one in transition. There are clear positives, including an improving SEND offer and structured pastoral support, plus practical enrichment that is more distinctive than many local comprehensives, such as outdoor learning through the school allotment and woodland activity. The school day is clearly structured, running 08:45 to 15:15, which matters for working families planning transport and care.

Results and demand data point to a challenging intake context. On GCSE measures, the school sits below England average in the FindMySchool ranking. Admission is competitive for Year 7, with more applications than offers in the most recent dataset, but the school does not publish a “last distance offered” figure here, so families should focus on the formal admissions criteria and the local authority timeline.

City Academy Norwich sits in Eaton, serving families across southwest Norwich and the wider city. It is a large, mixed secondary, and it frames its ethos around three virtues, kindness, curiosity and courage. Those are not presented as marketing gloss. They appear in the school’s day structure, its house points language, and its emphasis on orderly learning routines.

A key point for parents is the pace of cultural change since September 2022. Leadership is explicit about raising expectations and tightening consistency, and that often lands as a more structured, more adult directed experience for pupils. The most recent inspection describes pupils noticing positive change, while acknowledging that adjustment is not always easy for everyone. In practice, that combination often signals clearer boundaries, more predictable consequences, and less tolerance of low level disruption.

Pastoral support is an important part of the picture. The school runs a Social, Emotional and Mental Health base, positioned as a regulated space for pupils who need time and support to return to learning. It is described as using the Thrive Approach and de escalation strategies, and it also connects to outdoor learning through woodland activity and the allotment. For families of children with additional needs, that matters because it shows a school thinking beyond sanctions and towards re regulation, structured support, and reintegration back into lessons.

The house system is used to build identity and cross year cohesion, with form groups assigned into houses and opportunities for inter house activity and school council representation. That is a useful mechanism in large schools, particularly when leadership wants pupils to feel known and accountable beyond their immediate friendship group.

This is a school where academic outcomes remain a work in progress. The most recent inspection judged overall effectiveness as Requires Improvement (June 2024), with leadership and management judged Good, which is often a sign that direction of travel and systems are stronger than classroom consistency.

On GCSE performance measures, the available dataset places the school below England average. Ranked 3710th in England and 26th in Norwich for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits within the lower tier nationally on this measure. In plain English, that means results are below England average and improving them is a priority.

The underlying measures reinforce that picture. Progress 8 is -0.75, which indicates students, on average, made less progress than pupils nationally with similar starting points. Attainment 8 is 32.2. These figures should be read alongside the school’s stated focus on curriculum overhaul and consistency, because schools making major curriculum and behaviour changes sometimes see a lag before outcomes improve across whole cohorts.

For parents, the implication is practical. If your child is academically self driven, the structure and raised expectations may help. If your child needs consistently strong classroom explanation, careful checking of understanding and frequent feedback, it is worth probing how that looks subject by subject, particularly at key stage 4.

A final, important nuance is that the school’s curriculum offer includes a deliberate blend of academic and vocational options at GCSE, with personalised pathways by cohort. Done well, that can improve engagement and reduce drop off for pupils who do not thrive on a purely academic route. It also requires excellent guidance so that choices support genuine progression.

The curriculum is explicitly framed around raised ambition and implementation consistency. The school sets out a model where key stage 3 covers the national curriculum with enhanced access, and key stage 4 combines academic and vocational qualifications. Reading is positioned as a whole school priority, with explicit teaching of reading and structured intervention where reading age is behind.

The reading strategy is unusually detailed for a mainstream secondary. Form tutors are expected to read with their forms frequently, pausing for understanding and vocabulary, and staff are expected to model reading strategies and fluency as part of ordinary teaching. Intervention is tiered, with different support waves depending on the gap to reading age, including a named programme used to accelerate comprehension and vocabulary. The parent takeaway is that literacy is not being treated as a bolt on initiative; it is being treated as a prerequisite for GCSE access across subjects.

The curriculum design statement also sets out how lesson time is allocated across a two week cycle, with high weighting to English, mathematics and science throughout Years 7 to 11. That weighting is consistent with a school trying to secure the basics and avoid the “thin curriculum” problem that can emerge when pupils are moved too quickly onto options.

The central risk, based on external evaluation, is consistency of delivery. The June 2024 report indicates that curriculum systems were newly implemented and not yet embedded across all subjects, which can show up as variable lesson quality, gaps in knowledge, and misconceptions not being addressed early enough. For families, that makes internal monitoring, homework routines, and communication with subject staff particularly important.

Published destination statistics are not available for this school, and the school does not present a detailed university or apprenticeship destination breakdown in the sources reviewed. That means families should treat post 16 and post 18 progression as something to explore directly through careers guidance and individual pathways, rather than expecting a fixed destination profile.

What is available, and relevant, is the emphasis on careers education. The school frames careers education as integrated across the curriculum, with a stated aim to raise aspirations, challenge stereotyping and promote equality and diversity. This matters in a school where many pupils will take varied routes after Year 11, including sixth form, further education and technical pathways.

A practical note for families considering staying on after Year 11 is that local authority information indicates the school is not currently running sixth form courses for the current academic year. The school is inspected with an age range up to 19, so families should confirm the current post 16 offer and application route as part of any visit or transition conversation.

Year 7 admissions operate through the Norfolk co ordinated process, with applications made via the Common Application Form by the published deadline. For September 2026 entry, the school’s admissions policy sets the published admission number at 150 for Year 7, with the deadline for on time applications at midnight on 31 October 2025, and offers released on 02 March 2026.

Demand is meaningful. In the most recent dataset for the Year 7 entry route, there were 203 applications for 132 offers, with the route recorded as oversubscribed and a subscription ratio of 1.54 applications per offer. The implication is simple, families should assume competition and ensure the application is correctly completed, with accurate preferences and any required supporting evidence where criteria apply.

The admissions policy also confirms the school is part of a co ordinated scheme and sets out standard priority criteria, including looked after children and children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school. Parents relying on medical or social grounds should read the formal criteria carefully and gather documentary evidence early.

Because a “last distance offered” figure is not available here, distance based assumptions are risky. The best practical step is to use FindMySchoolMap Search to understand your proximity and likely transport routes, then read the Norfolk admissions guidance alongside the school’s policy so your expectations are grounded in the real oversubscription rules.

Pastoral work matters in a school making rapid cultural change, and this is an area with visible structure. The school describes a clear approach to supporting pupils who experience dysregulation, with the SEMH base providing a regulated space, trained staff, and reintegration support. The intention is not to replace behaviour boundaries, but to reduce escalation and help pupils return to learning.

Behaviour is improving, but families should read the current position carefully. The most recent inspection reports reduced disruption in classrooms, while also pointing to high suspension levels and a need to reduce absence. The implication for parents is that routines and expectations are likely firm, and that pupils who struggle with compliance may face consequences unless support plans are in place and consistently followed.

Safeguarding is an important baseline. The June 2024 Ofsted report confirmed safeguarding arrangements were effective at the time of inspection.

For families with SEND, this is one of the more encouraging threads. External evaluation describes SEND provision as substantially improving and a strength, with a range of support including the SEMH base and wider inclusion work. That does not remove the need for parents to ask precise questions about staffing, timetabled support, and how plans are communicated, but it is a more positive signal than the overall grade alone suggests.

The most distinctive extracurricular element is the school’s outdoor learning offer, which is unusually concrete. The school allotment, launched in January 2020, is presented as a permanent facility for inspirational learning and wellbeing, built in large part using recycled materials and linked directly to catering lessons through a “grow it, cook it, eat it” approach. For pupils who engage well with practical, hands on learning, this can be a strong motivational anchor, and it also lends itself to confidence building and teamwork.

The clubs programme is broad and, importantly, specific. In Spring 2026, the published clubs list includes activities such as CAN Kit Car Club, Archery, Psychology Club, School Choir, Science Club, and structured support such as study hall and homework help. For parents, the key question is not whether a list exists, it is whether pupils know about it, attend it, and feel it is for them. External evaluation suggests participation and visibility are areas leadership wants to strengthen, so families should ask how clubs are promoted and how uptake is tracked.

There is also evidence of enrichment that links to local partners and experiences, including competitive mathematics activity within the trust, and practical STEM themed opportunities described in school communications. These experiences can be especially valuable for pupils who benefit from seeing why learning matters beyond tests.

The school day runs 08:45 to 15:15, with a clear pattern of five lesson periods plus form time, break and lunch.

Breakfast provision exists as part of the wider enrichment and support offer, and there are structured spaces for study and homework support outside lesson time.

For transport planning, focus on realistic journey time from Eaton and southwest Norwich, including bus reliability at peak times. If you are shortlisting multiple schools, the FindMySchool comparison tools can help you line up admissions timelines, performance measures and practicalities side by side before you commit to open evenings and tours.

• Outcomes are currently below England average. The GCSE ranking and Progress 8 measure indicate underperformance relative to national benchmarks. Families should ask what is changing, and what evidence of improvement is visible in current work, assessment and curriculum consistency.

• Attendance and suspension levels are a live issue. External evaluation points to improved classroom behaviour, but high suspension levels and absence that still needs to improve. This may feel firm and consequence led for some pupils, which can either help structure or create friction depending on temperament.

• Sixth form provision needs confirming. Local authority information indicates the school is not currently running sixth form courses for the current academic year, despite inspection age range extending to 19. Clarify post 16 routes early if this is part of your plan.

• Extracurricular participation is developing. The clubs offer is strong on paper, but external evaluation suggests take up and visibility are not yet where leaders want them. Ask how pupils are guided into activities, especially those who are not already confident joiners.

City Academy Norwich is best read as a school rebuilding its foundations. Leadership stability since September 2022, clearer routines, and an improving inclusion offer create a more credible platform than the headline grade alone suggests. Students who respond well to structure, and families who value practical enrichment such as outdoor learning and hands on clubs, may find it a good fit, particularly if SEND support is a priority. The main question is pace, how quickly consistency in teaching, attendance and outcomes can catch up with the stronger systems now in place.