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All-throughState special · Community special school

Hillside Special School

Hitchcock Place, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 1NN ·

Ofsted:Good or better in all areas· 2025
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At a glance

A state special school for ages 4–19 in Sudbury. Ofsted inspection (June 2025): Good or better in all areas (no overall grade was given). Results aren't compared with the England average for special schools.

Ages
4–19
Pupils
89
Gender
Mixed
Sixth form
Yes
Admissions
Non-selective
Local authority
Suffolk
Headteacher
Mrs Lizzi Murphy

Inspection

Ofsted (framework in use until November 2025)

Read reports
Graded inspection 24 Jun 2025

Inspections from September 2024 did not give an overall grade, only the separate judgements below.

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Good

Safeguarding effective: Yes

Latest ungraded inspection (21 Sept 2023): School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next
Inspection reports describe the school on the day. Read the full report and visit the school before deciding.

Exam results

Department for Education performance tables

Year 6 pupils, 2024/25 · 12 pupils

Expected standard
0%
Reading, writing & maths
Higher standard
0%
Reading, writing & maths
Reading score
–
Average scaled score
Maths score
–
Average scaled score
This school
0%
Suffolk
59%
England
62%

Expected standard over time

Small year group: with few pupils, results can swing a lot from year to year. Look at several years together.

KS2 tests were not held in 2019/20 or 2020/21. Progress scores are not available from 2024/25.

Admissions

Demand for places and how places are allocated

Search for your address on the map to see straight-line distances to schools.

No school-level applications data is published for this school. It may admit pupils at a different age, or be a special or post-16 provider.

Catchment area

We don't have an official catchment boundary for this school. Many schools don't have one, and few councils publish boundaries as open data. We don't estimate catchments. Check the school's admissions policy or the council's admissions booklet.

Last distance offered

Not published nationally. Many councils publish the furthest distance offered for each school in their annual allocation reports. Past distances vary year to year with demand and sibling numbers, so they are not a guarantee.

How places are allocated: you apply through your home council. When a school has more applicants than places, it applies its published oversubscription criteria in order. These usually start with looked-after children, then siblings, then catchment or distance; faith schools may prioritise church attendance. Children with an EHC plan naming the school are admitted first. Apply on GOV.UK

Pupils

School census 2024/25

Pupils
86
Capacity
94
95% full
Girls / boys
30/70
Mixed
  • Eligible for free school meals (last 6 years)45.2%
  • English as an additional language5.8%
  • SEN support0%
  • Education, Health and Care plan100%
  • The black tick shows the median for state-funded all-through schools in England.
Hillside Special School, Sudbury · SchoolPatch