OFSTED
3 December 2024
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes
Requires improvement
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Requires improvement
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
BMAT EDUCATION
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
880
880 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
403
45.8% of pupils
Male pupils
477
54.2% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
2.8 pts
above England
School
27.6%
Harlow
25.3%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
0.8 pts
below England
School
19.5%
Harlow
23.2%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.1 pts
below England
School
0.9%
Harlow
2.3%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
58.5%
515
Any other White background
16.4%
144
African
8.5%
75
Any other Mixed background
4.2%
37
Any other Black background
2.0%
18
Pakistani
1.6%
14
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
15.0%
132 of
880 pupils
5.8 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
2.5 pts
below
England
6.0%
3.3 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
44.0
4.8 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.09 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
8.77%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.56 pts
higher than
England
School
8.77%
Harlow
6.66%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
22.87%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
7.05 pts
higher than
England
School
22.87%
Harlow
17.47%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.91%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
2.11 pts
higher than
England
School
3.91%
Harlow
1.88%
East of England
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
110.0%
17.7 pts
above England
Sir Frederick Gibberd College
110.0%
Harlow
94.9%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.