Acle Academy
Academy converter · 709 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.9
Academy sponsor led
Smithdon High School
- Pupils on roll
- 579of 750 places
- Free school meals
- 27.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 94
- Ofsted
- Good, 7 November 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Smithdon High School (URN 121157, until 23 August 2016).
What the data says
Smithdon High School has no sixth form. Of the 125 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 46% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
Physical Education is unusually popular at GCSE: 30% of the year group took it, against 11% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 40.3 against 46.1 across England and 45.2 in Norfolk, with 28% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Smithdon High School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Norfolk and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Smithdon High School | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 125 | 8,553 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 89% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 74% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 28% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 7% | 13% |
| — further education college | 46% | 43% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 10% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Smithdon High School | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 40.3 | 45.2 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 57% | 43% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.71 | 4.05 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 28% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.2 | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 44.6 | 48.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 1% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 94 | 100% | 86% | 4% | 21% | 45% |
| Mathematics | 94 | 100% | 88% | 11% | 22% | 69% |
| English Language | 93 | 99% | 89% | 4% | 20% | 52% |
| Combined Science | 86 | 91% | 65% | 1% | 9% | 50% |
| History | 58 | 62% | 41% | 16% | 26% | 57% |
| French | 45 | 48% | 18% | 7% | 29% | 44% |
| Geography | 43 | 46% | 41% | 12% | 25% | 58% |
| Physical Education | 28 | 30% | 11% | 11% | 24% | 61% |
| Business Studies | 25 | 27% | 18% | 16% | 20% | 60% |
| Design and Technology | 21 | 22% | 11% | 14% | 23% | 62% |
| Fine Art | 18 | 19% | 9% | 17% | 28% | 72% |
| Drama | 16 | 17% | 7% | 13% | 27% | 75% |
| Religious Studies | 14 | 15% | 31% | 43% | 32% | 64% |
| German | 11 | 12% | 5% | 27% | 33% | 91% |
| Physics | 7 | 7% | 23% | 71% | 46% | 100% |
| Music | 7 | 7% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 43% |
| Chemistry | 7 | 7% | 23% | 57% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 7 | 7% | 23% | 71% | 45% | 100% |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 26 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 17 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 17 | — | — |
| Additional Mathematics FSMQ | 9 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Norfolk
Alderman Peel High School
Academy converter · 606 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.4
Attleborough Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 976 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.4
Aylsham High School
Foundation school · 1,138 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.0
Broadland High Ormiston Academy
Academy converter · 725 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.8
Caister Academy
Academy sponsor led · 657 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.