Samuel Ward Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Haverhill, Suffolk County Council, teaching 1,076 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in November 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 43.8 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 20 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Samuel Ward Academy.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Sixth formGood
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 · Inspected 1 Nov 2022 · Published 7 Dec 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Samuel Ward Academy.

Samuel Ward 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 PD Day
  • 2 PD Day (Sixth Form Enrolment Day)
  • 3 Term Begins (Year 7, Year 11 and Year 12 only)
  • 4 Term Begins (All students)
  • 26 PD Day
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
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
  • 1–7 Autumn Half Term
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
  • 19 Autumn Term Ends
  • 20–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
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
  • 1–4 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 5 PD Day
  • 6 Spring Term Begins
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
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term
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
  • 27 Spring Term Ends
  • 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
  • 1–13 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
  • 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
  • 13 Summer Term Begins
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
  • 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 PD 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
  • 20 PD Day
  • 20 Summer Term Ends
  • 21–31 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
September 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 Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • PD Day Sep 1, 2025 Event
  • PD Day (Sixth Form Enrolment Day) Sep 2, 2025 Event
  • Term Begins (Year 7, Year 11 and Year 12 only) Sep 3, 2025 Term
  • Term Begins (All students) Sep 4, 2025 Term
  • PD Day Sep 26, 2025 Event
  • Autumn Half Term Oct 27 - Nov 7, 2025 Holiday
  • Autumn Term Ends Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 Holiday
  • PD Day Jan 5, 2026 Event
  • Spring Term Begins Jan 6, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Feb 16 - Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term Ends Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 13, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term Begins Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Summer Half Term May 25 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
  • PD Day Jun 26, 2026 Event
  • PD Day Jul 20, 2026 Event
  • Summer Term Ends Jul 20, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 21 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
43.8 Attainment 8 England 46.1
42.1% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
21.07 A level average score England 35
26.3% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Samuel Ward Academy with Suffolk County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 43.8 Attainment 8 score

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

This school Suffolk County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 43.8
Suffolk County Council 42.8 England 46.1 -2.3 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 42.1%
Suffolk County Council 39.9% England 45.4% -3.3 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 33.5
Suffolk County Council 30.8 England 34.9 -1.4 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 12.2
Suffolk County Council 15.9 England 15.5 -3.3 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 15.9%
Suffolk County Council 24.5% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 195
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 21.07 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school Suffolk County Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 21.07
Suffolk County Council 31.88 England 35 -13.9 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 49
Attendance 26.3% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Suffolk County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 26.3%
Suffolk County Council 17.9% England 17.8% +8.5 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 10.1%
Suffolk County Council 7% England 6.8% +3.3 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 95% In education, apprenticeship or work

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

This school Suffolk County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 95%
Suffolk County Council 93% England 92% +3 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 86%
Suffolk County Council 84% England 83% +3 vs England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 81% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school Suffolk County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 81%
Suffolk County Council 79% England 79% +2 vs England
Went to higher education 37%
Suffolk County Council 26% England 37% in line with 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 Samuel Ward 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 Samuel Ward 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.