Akeley Wood Senior School

My son attended Akeley Wood School and we were deeply disappointed and alarmed by the school's handling of ongoing and severe bullying.

Despite raising multiple written reports and having repeated meetings with staff (including senior leadership), the school failed to adequately safeguard my son, who is autistic. He was repeatedly subjected to:

Disability-based harassment, including being deliberately provoked and mocked for his autism.

Racist and nationality-based slurs, such as being called an "illegal immigrant" and "go back to Romania".

Severe emotional abuse, including a false and humiliating rumour spread throughout the school that caused significant mental health harm.

These incidents were consistently reported, but the school's response was dismissive and focused on "monitoring" rather than meaningful action. The situation deteriorated to the point that my son required therapy and was too distressed to attend. We had no choice but to withdraw him immediately for his own safety.

Instead of prioritising his well-being, the school has continued to focus on enforcing contractual notice fees, denying any safeguarding failures, and providing misleading statements about their actions.

We would not recommend Akeley Wood School to any parent, especially those with children who are vulnerable or require a supportive environment.

A revolving door of headteachers and teachers has destabilised the school between 2021 and 2024. The result is demonstrably substandard teaching and pastoral care, failing to meet the standards of state schools. The school's advertised extracurricular programme is a sham; with less than 50% delivered, it's a clear example of the institution's failure to honor its commitments.

Excellent school with great teachers. Our son loves it.

Quite bad not gonna lie, food is not adequate and the teachers do jack all.

My two children have been very happy at both the junior school in Wicken and now at the senior school. Both are doing well academically and enjoy the wider life at the school although this side has reduced over the covid period.