Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form Review 2026: A large Norwich secondary with improving momentum and a mixed academic and technical offer

A large 11 to 18 secondary on the eastern side of Norwich, Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is in a clear “improvement phase”, with culture and behaviour described as calmer and more purposeful than at the previous inspection point. The most recent external assessment is a 29 to 30 April 2025 inspection that graded every area as Good, including sixth-form provision, with safeguarding confirmed as effective.

Leadership stability is a notable feature. The principal is Mrs Penny Bignell, who joined the school in April 2020, giving the current strategy time to bed in across teaching, behaviour systems, and post 16 pathways.

For outcomes, the picture is “solid mid-pack with strengths”, rather than headline-grabbing. GCSE performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), while A-level outcomes also land in that same broad middle band. The sixth form is sizeable, and positions itself as both academic and technical, including T Levels with substantial industry placements and a structured enrichment menu.

Scale shapes daily life here. With a roll of roughly 1,800 students and a large site, the experience is more like a busy small town than a tight-knit boutique secondary. That can suit confident students who like social breadth, varied peer groups, and lots of parallel opportunities at lunch and after school. It can feel more demanding for students who prefer a quieter pace or find crowds and transitions between lessons tiring.

The direction of travel matters. The most recent inspection notes a shift towards calmer classrooms and more purposeful learning, with students responding well to higher expectations. The tone is not “all sticks”, it is more about consistency, fairness, and predictability, which is often what families mean when they say they want a school to feel orderly.

The school’s published ethos places emphasis on Aspiration, Respect and Engagement, and it describes a Pastoral Curriculum delivered through form time as the basis for routines and interactions. In practice, that usually shows up as explicit teaching of habits and character, plus clearer adult language around conduct and social expectations.

Trust membership also frames the atmosphere. Thorpe St Andrew is part of Broad Horizons Education Trust, which is relevant because improvement work in large secondaries often depends on sustained training, consistent policies, and governance that holds leaders to account over several years rather than one term at a time.

This section uses FindMySchool rankings and the performance metrics provided for the school.

At GCSE, Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form is ranked 1,287th in England and 11th in Norwich for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). That position translates to performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is a “reliably solid” profile rather than a highly selective or ultra high-performing outlier.

On the underlying GCSE indicators provided, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 49.4 and the Progress 8 score is 0.14. A positive Progress 8 score indicates that, on average, students achieve above the progress expected from their starting points. The EBacc profile is relatively academic for a comprehensive: the average EBacc point score is 4.46, and 25.6% of pupils achieve grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure provided. (EBacc entry rates are not shown here for the school, so it is better to treat the EBacc statistics as partial context rather than a full curriculum signal.)

At A-level, the school is ranked 1,219th in England and 8th in Norwich for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This also sits within the “middle 35% in England” band. The grade distribution shown is: 7.81% A*, 12.11% A, 27.34% B, and 47.27% A* to B. In other words, just under half of grades are A* to B, with roughly one in five at A* or A.

How should parents interpret this? The profile reads as a school where strong students can do very well, but where results are not so extreme that the environment needs to feel relentlessly exam-driven to sustain them. That can be appealing for families seeking a mainstream comprehensive feel, with breadth and progression routes beyond a narrow academic funnel.

Curriculum intent is described as ambitious and structured from Year 7 through Year 13, with subject experts sequencing knowledge so students can build complexity over time. A practical implication for families is that students who attend regularly and keep up with home learning usually benefit from lessons that connect clearly, rather than feeling like isolated topics.

Reading and language are a stated priority across subjects. The school describes work on vocabulary and subject terminology, and the most recent inspection aligns with that, highlighting an emphasis on accurate language use. For parents, this matters because vocabulary is a major driver of progress at GCSE and in sixth form, especially in essay-based subjects and technical pathways where precise terms are non-negotiable.

Home learning is also framed explicitly as “research informed”, with guidance that more work is not always better and that habits and routines matter. The useful parent takeaway is that the school appears to care about homework being purposeful, with systems (such as setting work through its platform) designed to make expectations visible at home.

Support for students who struggle with reading is in place, using interventions. The improvement focus, as described in the most recent report, is making these interventions more precisely matched to individual barriers and sustained for long enough. That is a very specific, practical improvement point, and it is often a differentiator between “Good with clear next steps” and “Good but uneven”.

The sixth form is large enough to support multiple routes. The school describes a mix of academic A-level programmes alongside vocational and mixed programmes, plus T Levels. T Levels include an industry placement expectation of at least 45 days, which can be attractive for students who want a technical route with genuine workplace experience, without closing the door to higher education.

For headline progression measures, the 2023 to 2024 leaver data provided indicates 46% progressed to university, 31% moved into employment, and 8% started apprenticeships. These figures do not capture the full richness of destinations (for example, they do not list which universities), but they give a grounded sense that outcomes are mixed and include work as well as study. That may suit students who want practical momentum after Year 13, not only a traditional university pathway.

For Oxford and Cambridge, the measurement period provided shows six applications, with one offer and one confirmed place at Cambridge. The scale is important: this is not a specialist Oxbridge pipeline, but it does show that a small number of students pursue highly competitive courses, with some success.

The school also highlights a careers programme designed to help students understand different routes, and it runs a sixth-form enrichment menu that includes options such as Arts Award Gold and a Sports Leader Award. A well-structured enrichment programme tends to benefit students who need help converting ability into applications, interviews, and course choices.

Year 7 entry (September 2026)

Year 7 admissions are coordinated by Norfolk. For September 2026 entry, the published timetable states: applications open 11 September 2025, applications close 31 October 2025, and national offer day is 2 March 2026. Appeals are expected to follow in spring 2026, with hearings in May or June.

The school’s own admissions guidance also reflects the standard local-authority route, with offers confirmed in March. For families, the key practical point is that you apply through the local-authority system rather than treating the school as a direct-application academy.

Because local data on the last distance offered is not provided here, it is sensible to treat “how hard is it to get in” as a year-by-year question. If you are weighing multiple Norwich options, FindMySchool’s Map Search can help you compare travel distances and shortlisting logic alongside published admissions criteria, rather than relying on anecdotal views from previous cohorts.

Sixth form entry (September 2026)

The sixth form positions itself as open access, with a broad course mix rather than a narrow entry gate. For September 2026 entry, the sixth-form page states that applications open on Tuesday 21 October 2025. The application page also gives a clear deadline: applications must be received by Friday 28 November (the year is not stated on that line, but it sits alongside the September 2026 application cycle).

One helpful additional detail for families considering post 16 finance is that the sixth form publishes a 16 to 19 Bursary Fund framework, including a household income threshold for one of the tiers. This is not about tuition, it is about practical participation costs such as transport, equipment, university visit travel, and course-specific items.

Pastoral systems are framed as deliberate and taught, not left to chance. The school describes a Pastoral Curriculum delivered through form time, designed to support personal development, wellbeing, and character. For students who need routine, predictable expectations, and consistent adult language, that approach often reduces day-to-day anxiety and improves attendance and punctuality.

Attendance expectations are explicit, with clear guidance on morning routines and punctuality. The gates open at 8.00am, and students are expected to be in form by 8.15am, with a defined process for late arrival. This is worth noting for families managing transport or caring responsibilities, since the school day starts earlier than many secondaries.

Support for additional needs is a key part of the current improvement story. The school identifies needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and a recently opened SAIL centre is described as providing bespoke learning and support for pupils with cognitive and learning difficulties, with the intention of reintegration into mainstream learning. The practical parent takeaway is that support exists, and that the focus is now on making classroom adaptations more precise so students with SEND can access depth, not only “get through”.

Extracurricular provision is presented as one of the school’s big levers. The school states that it runs over 50 extracurricular activities across the year, supported by trips and visiting speakers. The number itself matters less than what students can actually do, but it signals a scale that usually allows niche interests to survive, not only the headline sports.

The most recent inspection report gives unusually specific examples of what students take up, from newer sports such as pickleball, to practical and creative activities such as crochet, allotment work, and designing and building a model racing car. For many families, this is the difference between a school that is “academic plus sport” and one that can engage students who need hands-on motivation or creative outlet alongside GCSEs.

Sixth-form enrichment is also clearly branded. Examples include Arts Award Gold and a Sports Leader Award, both of which build portfolio evidence, leadership, and practical experience that can strengthen applications and interviews.

Sport at sixth form includes a named pathway, the Thorpe Football Academy, described as a football and education programme for sixth-form students. Even if a student is not on an elite pathway, programmes like this often provide a strong routine and a sense of identity during the jump from GCSE to post 16 study.

On the technical side, T Levels and placements are a meaningful differentiator. The sixth form describes placements across areas such as marketing, finance, HR, and customer engagement, which can help students build credible experience in addition to qualifications.

The published school day runs from 08:19 to 15:00, with a structured start labelled Morning Motivation in year-group areas before lessons begin. For families juggling transport, that 08:19 start is an important detail to plan around, especially for students travelling from outside Thorpe St Andrew.

Transport notes are most explicit on the sixth-form access guidance, which states there is a bus stop right outside the gates on Pound Lane, plus cycle guidance and on-site cycle racks. That matters because many post 16 students will travel independently, and a straightforward bus link reduces friction for late finishes, enrichment, and placements.

Wraparound care is not applicable in the same way as a primary school. For Year 7 families who need structured supervision after 3.00pm, the best practical approach is to check the current clubs schedule and any after-school provision directly with the school, since published details vary by term.

• Early start and a busy site. The school day begins at 08:19 and finishes at 15:00. Students who find mornings difficult, or who have longer commutes, may need a very organised routine to avoid punctuality stress.

• Improvement momentum is real, but still a work in progress. The most recent inspection graded all areas Good, following a previous Requires Improvement judgement in July 2022. That is a strong trajectory, but families should still ask practical questions about consistency across subjects and year groups.

• SEND precision is a stated next step. Support exists, including a SAIL centre, but the improvement focus includes making teaching adaptations more refined so pupils with SEND can access depth, not only coverage. This is worth discussing during an open event if your child relies on classroom-level adaptations.

• Sixth-form deadlines arrive early in the autumn term. Applications for September 2026 open on 21 October 2025, and the stated deadline is 28 November. Students aiming for competitive courses should plan personal statements, references, and any placement discussions well before that date.

Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form suits families who want a large, mainstream Norwich secondary with improving culture, consistent routines, and a sixth form that takes both academic and technical routes seriously. It is particularly well matched to students who benefit from breadth, structured expectations, and practical options such as T Levels and leadership awards alongside traditional A-level study. The main question is not whether the school has improved, the evidence says it has, but whether your child will thrive in a big setting with an early start and a busy daily rhythm.