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Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow

Secondary · Harlow · CM18 7NQ

Data updated

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 8 May 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

978 pupils · 93% of 1,050 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
36.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
20.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.stewardsacademy.org
URN
137552

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 142 families named it first for 171 Year 7 places, 0.83 first choices per place. Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 8 May 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 10.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.83 first-choice applications per place

171 places offered · 142 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

GCSE results (2024/2025)

210 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
38.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
52.4%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
31%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.4
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school38.9
Median of its 12 closest peers42.3
Essex average46
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
DSLV E-ACT AcademyDaventry · 63 miles awayGood37.2
Burnside CollegeWallsend · 234 miles awayGood44.2
Bishop Justus CofE SchoolBromley · 26 miles awayRequires improvement37.8
Accrington AcademyAccrington · 173 miles awayRequires improvement39.4
Woolwich Polytechnic School for GirlsThamesmead · 17 miles awayGood47.5
St Paul's AcademyLondon · 18 miles awayNeeds attention40.4
Ralph Thoresby SchoolLeeds · 162 miles awayGood39.7
Ormiston Bushfield AcademyPeterborough · 57 miles awayGood46.3
St George's Catholic SchoolLondon · 19 miles awayOutstanding55.9
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary AcademyDewsbury · 153 miles awayRequires improvement34.8
Bellerive FCJ Catholic CollegeLiverpool · 170 miles awayExpected standard47.3
Fairfield High School for GirlsManchester · 152 miles awayGood52.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 60% (Essex 72%, England 59%) · Any other White background 12% (Essex 6%, England 7%) · Black African 7% (Essex 4%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Essex 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 3% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Essex 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Essex 1%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Essex 0%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
10.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
30.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

77.55 suspensions per 100 pupils and 4 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Essex: 18.44 suspensions and 0.18 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
17.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

86% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 12% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

65.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 11.1 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,163; 7.9% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
94%
Continuing in education
84%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
5%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher21.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications24.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work20.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways25%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier41.3%62.3%
Social housing41.1%17.1%
Privately rented17.6%20.5%
Detached houses12.9%22.9%
Flats40.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms8.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van27.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021859 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£310,000401 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£250,000–£365,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (31)£450,000
Semi-detached (47)£390,000
Terraced (238)£318,000
Flat (85)£185,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
6an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
29an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools