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Orsett Heath Academy

Secondary · Grays · RM16 4DG

Data updated

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Good

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: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 17 October 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

699 pupils · 58% of 1,200 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
23.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
5.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://www.orsettheathacademy.org.uk/
URN
147847

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 256 families named it first for 235 Year 7 places, 1.09 first choices per place. Ofsted last graded it Good on 17 October 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.09 first-choice applications per place

235 places offered · 256 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
47
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
71.7%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
47.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
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 school47
Median of its 12 closest peers42.5
Thurrock average46.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of 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
Beaminster SchoolBeaminster · 142 miles awayGood47
Alde Valley AcademyLeiston · 72 miles awayRequires improvement33.7
Caistor Yarborough AcademyMarket Rasen · 141 miles awayExpected standard43.8
The Island Free SchoolVentnor · 92 miles awayGood51
Alderman Peel High SchoolWells-next-the-Sea · 103 miles awayExpected standard45.4
Honiton Community CollegeHoniton · 161 miles awayGood40.4
Ibstock SchoolIbstock · 111 miles awayRequires improvement41.5
Broadland High Ormiston AcademyNorwich · 96 miles awayGood46.8
Smithdon High SchoolHunstanton · 100 miles awayGood40.3
Litcham SchoolKing's Lynn · 87 miles awayGood41.4
Carr Hill High SchoolPreston · 208 miles awayRequires improvement43.5
Writhlington SchoolRadstock · 121 miles awayGood40.3

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 67% (Thurrock 46%, England 59%) · Any other White background 10% (Thurrock 14%, England 7%) · Black African 7% (Thurrock 14%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 4% (Thurrock 3%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Thurrock 4%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Thurrock 2%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Thurrock 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Thurrock 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Thurrock 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Thurrock 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Thurrock 1%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Thurrock 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Thurrock 4%, England 2%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Thurrock 0%, England 0%) · 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)
6.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
18.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

19.68 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Thurrock: 17.98 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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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
18
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 15% 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)

52.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 1.3 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 £52,327; 15% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,484
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 71% (77%) · premises 9% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,000; in-year balance +£434,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications23.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work21.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways28%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.8%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier45.4%62.3%
Social housing45.9%17.1%
Privately rented8.7%20.5%
Detached houses5%22.9%
Flats44.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms8.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van30.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01015963 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£420,000181 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£370,000–£475,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (27)£495,000
Semi-detached (116)£425,000
Terraced (33)£360,000
Flat (5)£215,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of 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
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
1an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
6an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an 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