The Nicholas Hamond Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Swaffham, Norfolk County Council, teaching 710 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted graded achievement as Needs attention at its most recent inspection in March 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 38.4 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Nicholas Hamond Academy.

Latest inspection
2025 framework Graded by evaluation area
AchievementNeeds attention
Curriculum & teachingNeeds attention
Attendance & behaviourExpected standard
Personal development & wellbeingExpected standard
InclusionExpected standard
Leadership & governanceExpected standard
Safeguarding Met
S5 Inspection · Inspected 17 Mar 2026 · Published 16 Jun 2026
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Nicholas Hamond Academy.

The Nicholas Hamond Academy term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Staff Training Day
  • 2 Staff Training Day
  • 3 First Day of Autumn Term
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 3 Staff Training Day
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 26 Boxing Day
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–2 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day
  • 5 Start of Spring Term
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 9–13 Spring Half Term Holiday
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 30–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–10 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday
  • 6 Easter Monday
  • 13 Start of Summer Term
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 26 Staff Training Day
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 17 Last Day of Summer Term
  • 20–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Staff Training Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
  • Staff Training Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
  • First Day of Autumn Term Sep 3, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
  • Staff Training Day Nov 3, 2025 Inset Day
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Start of Spring Term Jan 5, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 9-13, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
  • Start of Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Half Term Holiday May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Staff Training Day Jun 26, 2026 Inset Day
  • Last Day of Summer Term Jul 17, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 20 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
38.4 Attainment 8 England 46.1
29.1% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
23.8% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Nicholas Hamond Academy with Norfolk County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 38.4 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Norfolk County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 38.4
Norfolk County Council 45.2 England 46.1 -7.7 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 29.1%
Norfolk County Council 44.9% England 45.4% -16.3 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 31.1
Norfolk County Council 34.1 England 34.9 -3.8 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 11.7
Norfolk County Council 14.7 England 15.5 -3.8 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 38.2%
Norfolk County Council 24.8% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 110
Attendance 23.8% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Norfolk County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 23.8%
Norfolk County Council 17.8% England 17.8% +6 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 9.2%
Norfolk County Council 7% England 6.8% +2.5 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 90% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Norfolk County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 90%
Norfolk County Council 92% England 92% -2 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 88%
Norfolk County Council 83% England 83% +5 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for The Nicholas Hamond Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Nicholas Hamond Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.