Aylsham High School

About Aylsham High School

Parents considering Aylsham High School will find strong signals of local confidence. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 350 applications for 233 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.5, with 227 of those offers going to first-preference families. That level of demand suggests a school that local parents actively choose. The school is a mixed, non-denominational secondary for ages 11 to 16, with no sixth form, and is part of the state system in Norfolk. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in January 2024, confirmed the school remains Good, following a full graded inspection in 2014 that also awarded Good. The previous graded inspection in 2011 had rated it Outstanding, so the current Good rating represents a measured step back, but the school has held that standard consistently across two recent inspections.

Academically, Aylsham performs well above the local authority average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.21 is classified as Above average nationally, and comfortably beats the Norfolk LA average of -0.02. In the Broadland local authority, it ranks first out of seven schools on this measure, and sits 16th out of 57 secondary schools across the whole of Norfolk. Attainment 8 sits at 49, and 70.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 51.1% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 4.57, and 68.6% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. Progress in the EBacc subjects and open elements is strong, though English progress is slightly negative at -0.1, and maths progress is positive at 0.18.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, and a gymnasium. Sports provision covers swimming, rowing, rugby, and dance, while clubs include the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Young Enterprise, coding, and debate. SEND provision is well-documented, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 19.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a mixed catchment. This is a good fit for families who want a well-regarded, oversubscribed state secondary with strong academic progress, solid facilities, and clear SEND support, but who are comfortable with a school that ends at 16 and does not offer a sixth form.

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