Ormiston Victory Academy Review 2026, a calm, structured secondary with a distinctive enrichment programme

A large, mixed 11–18 academy on the western edge of Norwich, with a sixth form branded as Lord Nelson Sixth Form and an enrichment offer packaged under the memorable name Victory Adventures. The daily routine is tightly timetabled, with form time from 08:30 and the core day running to 15:00, followed by enrichment and clubs.

The latest Ofsted inspection (5–6 November 2024) graded Quality of education as Good, Behaviour and attitudes as Good, Personal development as Outstanding, Leadership and management as Good, and Sixth form provision as Good.

Leadership is stable. Miss Naomi Palmer is Principal and, according to Ormiston Academies Trust, was appointed in 2013.

The defining feature here is order with purpose. The school’s own structures lean into consistency, a clear rewards system, and a calm climate for learning. The 2024 inspection report describes pupils as comfortable raising concerns with adults, and indicates that bullying is uncommon and addressed quickly when it occurs.

A second thread is “belonging through participation”. Students are encouraged to take part in productions, clubs, trips and leadership opportunities, and the school leans on participation as a route to confidence and independence. That matters in a large setting, because the most successful big schools are the ones that create smaller communities within them, whether through enrichment cohorts, reading groups, performing arts casts, or sports teams.

There are also some distinctive, very practical signals about the breadth of provision. The academy runs a Beauty Salon that is open to the public, linked to sixth form pathways in beauty therapy (with progression from Level 2 to Level 3). That is a specific, tangible example of a school trying to connect curriculum, employability, and real-world experience.

At GCSE level, the academy sits around the middle of the national distribution on the FindMySchool ranking, based on official data. Ranked 2440th in England and 20th in Norwich for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), it reflects solid performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The headline GCSE indicators show:

• Attainment 8 score of 44.4

• EBacc average point score of 3.67

• 11.6% achieving grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure

A reasonable reading of that pattern is that outcomes are strongest when students are on well-matched courses and supported by consistent teaching routines. The 2024 inspection report supports this, describing a broadly positive curriculum impact and good progress, while also noting that in a small number of subjects, checking understanding is not consistently strong, which can leave some students with gaps in knowledge and in their written work.

In the sixth form, outcomes sit lower on the FindMySchool A-level ranking. Ranked 2240th in England and 14th in Norwich for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), this places the sixth form below England average overall.

The grade profile for A-levels is:

• A* at 1.11%

• A at 7.78%

• B at 18.89%

• A*–B at 27.78%

This is below the England average benchmarks (A*–A at 23.6%, A*–B at 47.2%).

Implication for families: the sixth form may suit students who value a supportive route into employment, apprenticeships, or a broad mix of post-18 options, rather than those seeking a purely top-grade academic environment. For many students, fit, course choice, and consistency of attendance will be more important drivers than headline league-table comparisons.

Parents comparing local options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and the Comparison Tool to view GCSE and A-level measures side by side, rather than relying on reputation alone.

Curriculum intent matters here because the academy is actively shaping pathways for older students. The 2024 inspection report describes recent and ongoing changes that widen access to a broader set of qualifications at key stage 4 and increase access to the English Baccalaureate suite.

The strongest classroom practice is described as consistent checking of understanding in most subjects. Where that is done well, students build knowledge securely and can apply it in writing and longer tasks. Where it is less consistent, the school’s improvement priority is clear, tighten up how content is presented and how learning is checked so that misconceptions do not persist.

Support for students with additional needs is described as responsive and clearly signposted to staff, with adaptations made in class and a specific nurture provision for pupils with higher levels of need, delivered through small-group work and additional resourcing.

Reading is treated as a priority. Struggling readers are identified quickly, supported through intervention, and monitored. This is complemented by cultural initiatives such as a student book club, and the Victory Scholars reading activity “Elite Reviewers”, which runs as a structured book-shadowing and review programme.

Where Students Go Next

The school’s published destination story is mixed by design, with an emphasis on options rather than a single “university-only” pathway. In the 2023/24 leavers cohort (cohort size 54), 35% progressed to university, 6% to apprenticeships, 33% to employment, and 4% to further education.

The practical implication is that post-16 choices should be made with clear-eyed realism about routes and entry requirements. If your child is aiming for a highly academic university course, the right questions are about subject availability, grade expectations, and how teaching supports independent study habits in Year 12 and Year 13. If they are aiming for employment or an apprenticeship, the questions are about work experience, employer engagement, and careers guidance. On that latter point, the 2024 inspection report describes careers guidance as a strength and references structured opportunities for students to engage with the world of work.

Oxbridge-specific figures are not available for this school, so it is better to evaluate outcomes through the wider destination mix and the suitability of sixth form pathways.

Year 7 admission is coordinated by Norfolk County Council, with the academy’s published admission number (PAN) set at 300 for Year 7 entry.

For September 2026 entry, the academy’s 2026–27 admissions policy lists:

• Admission round opens on 11 September 2025

• Applications due by 31 October 2025

• Offer day on 02 March 2026

Demand is real but not extreme by local standards. In the latest published admissions data there were 402 applications and 285 offers (subscription proportion 1.41), with the school recorded as oversubscribed.

Because last-distance data is not available here, families should avoid assumptions about how far “is safe”. If proximity is important to your plan, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check your home-to-school distance precisely and then validate assumptions against the local authority’s allocation patterns and the academy’s oversubscription criteria.

Sixth form admission is direct to the academy’s Lord Nelson Sixth Form route, with a published sixth form PAN of 300 applicants per year (including internal and external). For the 2026/27 academic year, the policy states applications open on 01 October 2025 and close on 31 July 2026.

Entry requirements are clearly set out for Level 3 routes:

• Academic Level 3 programmes, five GCSEs at grade 5 or above including English and mathematics, plus subject-specific minimum grades

• Vocational or mixed Level 3 routes, five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and mathematics, with English and maths resit routes where needed

Personal development is the standout judgement in the 2024 inspection, and the detail underneath it is practical rather than abstract. The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum is described as effective in supporting understanding of protected characteristics and British values, and students have a range of opportunities to take part in school life, from productions to clubs.

Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective, and the school positions reporting systems and adult support as visible and understood by pupils.

For families, the key pastoral questions are usually about consistency, visibility, and response time. On the evidence available, the academy’s strongest pastoral signals are its calm climate for learning, structured rewards, and clear routes for students to ask for help.

This is where Ormiston Victory Academy becomes more distinctive. The school has deliberately branded its extracurricular and enrichment offer as Victory Adventures, and the published description is unusually specific, mentioning skiing and snowboarding trips, foreign language exchanges, overseas field trips, an annual Tall Ship residential, and a summer water sports holiday.

On the week-to-week programme, the academy publishes a clubs list that includes some unusual options for a state secondary, alongside the expected sports and study support. Examples include:

• Illustration and Bookbinding Club

• Warhammer Club

• Pride Club (KS4–KS5)

• Gardening Club

• Chess Club

• Maths Homework Club

The performing arts strand also looks substantial. The inspection report references the scale of productions and the range of participation opportunities, including roles as cast and crew.

Finally, for academically high-attaining students, the Victory Scholars programme adds structure and identity. The “Elite Reviewers” book-shadowing and review strand is a concrete example of how the school tries to build reading culture through peer influence rather than simply through intervention.

Implication: students who thrive with choice and variety, and who are willing to join in, are likely to get materially more from the academy than students who treat school as “lessons only”. Participation is not just a nice extra here, it is part of the school’s model for confidence, belonging, and independence.

The published timetable starts at 08:30 with form time and runs to 15:00 for most students, with Period 6 for Year 11 and sixth form from 15:00, alongside enrichment and after-school clubs from 15:00.

As a state-funded academy, there are no tuition fees. Families should still budget for standard secondary costs such as uniform, trips, and optional activities, with the most variable costs usually linked to enrichment travel and specialist pathways.

• Sixth form outcomes. The A-level grade profile is below the England averages. This sixth form can still be the right choice, but students should select courses carefully and be clear about the pathway they want after Year 13.

• Consistency across subjects. The 2024 inspection highlights that in a small number of subjects, checking understanding and the consistency of delivery are not as strong. Ask how the school is tightening subject-level practice and what that means for your child’s option choices.

• Competition for Year 7 places. The school is recorded as oversubscribed in the latest admissions dataset (402 applications for 285 offers). This is not a “guaranteed place” option for all local families.

• Enrichment can be a major differentiator. Victory Adventures includes travel and residential opportunities that are likely to be a highlight for many students, but families should check what is optional, what is subsidised, and what carries additional cost.

Ormiston Victory Academy is best understood as a structured, large secondary that puts real weight behind personal development and participation. The 2024 inspection grades, calm climate for learning, and clearly organised enrichment programme make it a credible option for a wide range of students, particularly those who benefit from routine and who will join in beyond lessons.

Who it suits: families in the Norwich and Costessey area who want a mainstream 11–18 school with a clear daily structure, visible pastoral systems, and a genuinely differentiated enrichment offer. The main decision point is post-16, where students aiming for strongly academic A-level outcomes should compare options carefully and discuss course fit early.