Duke of Lancaster School
Duke of Lancaster School is a special free school in Fakenham for boys and girls aged 5 to 16. It has 107 pupils, 7 more than it has places for. About 41 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Highfield Road, Fakenham, NR21 9DQ01328 800880easterneducationgroup.ac.uk/send/duke-of-lancasterMs Elizabeth Barneveld headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 6 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 5 March 2024 | S5 Inspection | Requires improvement |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
11 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 11 | 6 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 45.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -3.10 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 9% | 0% | 45% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 9% | 0% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.32 | 0.31 | 4.05 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 43% | 41% |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
11 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 11 | 10 | 8 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 13% | 56% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 100.0 | 94.0 | 102.0 | 104.6 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 90.0 | 91.0 | 91.0 | 103.2 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 95.0 | 91.0 | 98.0 | 103.2 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 27% | 30% | 50% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 10% | 13% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 13% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -3.5 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -10.6 | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Norfolk council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (78), emotional and mental health (11), language and communications needs (9), Other difficulty or disability (6), Specific learning difficulty (2), Physical disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 107 | 100 | 97 | 75 | 43 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 41% | 38% | 37% | 29% | 21% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 5% | 6% | 5% | 7% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 1% | 3% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 99% | 97% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 79.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 20.8% | 19.9% | 21.3% | 13.2% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 16.0% | 12.9% | 15.0% | 8.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.9% | 6.9% | 6.3% | 5.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 45.9% | 55.5% | 57.0% | 40.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 24.0 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fakenham Academy | Academy | 510 m | 723 | Not inspected | 42 | Compare |
| Fakenham Junior School | Academy | 590 m | 257 | Good 2023 | 14 | Compare |
| Fakenham Infant and Nursery School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 207 | Good 2023 | 56 | Compare |
| Sculthorpe Church of England Primary Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 61 | Good 2024 | 27 | Compare |
| Colkirk Church of England Primary Academy | Academy | 2.5 miles | 55 | Good 2024 | 7 | Compare |
| Little Snoring Community Primary Academy | Academy | 2.8 miles | 65 | No overall grade 2025 | 47 | Compare |
| All Saints Stibbard Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery | Academy | 4.1 miles | 208 | Requires improvement 2023 | 2 | Compare |
| Ortus Education Ltd - West Raynham School | Independent | 4.3 miles | 24 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Duke of Lancaster School a good school?
Duke of Lancaster School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from May 2026 rated its teaching as needs attention.
What is Duke of Lancaster School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 6 May 2026 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as needs attention, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.
How good are Duke of Lancaster School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 9% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 7.1, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How good are Duke of Lancaster School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does Duke of Lancaster School have?
107 pupils aged 5 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 100 places, so it is 107% full.
What is attendance like at Duke of Lancaster School?
Pupils were in school 79.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 46% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Duke of Lancaster School have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Highfield Road, Fakenham, NR21 9DQ
- Telephone
- 01328 800880
- Website
- easterneducationgroup.ac.uk/send/duke-of-lancaster
- Headteacher
- Ms Elizabeth Barneveld
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Eastern Education Group Trust (10 schools)
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Ward
- Lancaster North
- Constituency
- Broadland and Fakenham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 2022 (new provision)
- URN
- 148859 · LAESTAB 9267011 · UKPRN 10089693
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.