OFSTED
4 March 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy sponsor led
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
867
867 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
440
50.7% of pupils
Male pupils
427
49.3% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
2.9 pts
above England
School
27.7%
Harlow
25.3%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
8.1 pts
below England
School
12.2%
Harlow
23.2%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.3 pts
below England
School
0.7%
Harlow
2.3%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
66.1%
573
Any other White background
7.4%
64
Unclassified
6.6%
57
African
5.1%
44
Any other Mixed background
2.9%
25
Any other ethnic group
2.1%
18
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
16.8%
146 of
867 pupils
4.0 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
0.1 pts
below
England
6.0%
3.8 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
38.9
0.3 pts
below England
Latest published: -0.82 · 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
9.91%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
3.69 pts
higher than
England
School
9.91%
Harlow
6.66%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
32.06%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
16.24 pts
higher than
England
School
32.06%
Harlow
17.47%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
4.27%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
2.46 pts
higher than
England
School
4.27%
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
80.3%
12.0 pts
below England
Mark Hall Academy
80.3%
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.