Hadleigh High School

About Hadleigh High School

Hadleigh High School is a mixed 11-16 state secondary in Babergh, Suffolk, currently home to 731 pupils against a capacity of 870, meaning it has some room to grow. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 22.1%, which is notably higher than the national average for secondary schools and signals a relatively diverse intake in terms of socio-economic background. Demand for places is strong: for the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 187 applications for 144 places, with 138 of those coming as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.3. This suggests that while the school is popular locally, it is not so heavily oversubscribed that families cannot realistically secure a place. The school has no religious character and does not have a sixth form, so pupils typically move on elsewhere after Year 11.

Academically, Hadleigh's Progress 8 score of -0.16 places it in the 'Average' banding nationally, meaning pupils achieve broadly in line with expectations given their starting points. This is marginally above the Suffolk local authority average of -0.17, so the school is performing in line with its peers across the county. In the Babergh district, it ranks 3rd out of 5 schools on Progress 8, placing it in the 60th percentile locally. Attainment 8 sits at 44.6, with 61.8% of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though the figure drops to 37.6% for the stronger grade 5 benchmark. The EBacc entry rate is 24.2%, with 20.6% achieving the qualification at grade 4 or above. Ofsted last inspected the school in October 2024 and judged it to be 'Good' overall, with leadership and management also rated 'Good', and confirmed that standards were being maintained since the previous graded inspection in 2015.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, and science labs, plus clubs such as coding, Model UN, and orchestra. SEND provision covers a wide spectrum, including support for autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities. Parent View responses from 118 families show strong satisfaction: 79% would recommend the school, and 89% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy. The school suits families in the Babergh area looking for a well-regarded local secondary with a broad curriculum and good extracurricular offer, but who are comfortable with the lack of a sixth form and the fact that academic outcomes, while solid, are not exceptional compared with the strongest performers in the county.

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