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Mark Hall Academy

Secondary · Harlow · CM17 9LR

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 4 March 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

867 pupils · 80% of 1,080 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
27.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
14.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.markhallacademy.org
URN
148423

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 134 families named it first for 155 Year 7 places, 0.86 first choices per place. At its inspection on 4 March 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.86 first-choice applications per place

155 places offered · 134 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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)

138 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
53.6%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
29.7%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.1
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 school38.9
Median of its 12 closest peers44.9
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
Greenacre SchoolChatham · 34 miles awayInadequate29.8
Glenmoor AcademyBournemouth · 113 miles awayOutstanding (2019)60.7
Kents Hill Park all-through schoolMilton Keynes · 40 miles awayGood50.2
Longridge High SchoolPreston · 182 miles awayRequires improvement44.6
The Grove SchoolMarket Drayton · 135 miles awayRequires improvement39.5
Springfield SchoolPortsmouth · 82 miles awayGood39.8
Hermitage AcademyChester le Street · 224 miles awayGood49.1
Rossington All Saints AcademyDoncaster · 127 miles awayGood47.4
Retford Oaks AcademyRetford · 116 miles awayGood40.1
Dartford Science & Technology CollegeDartford · 24 miles awayExpected standard49.1
Haberdashers' Crayford AcademyDartford · 22 miles awayGood45.2
Landau Forte Academy, AmingtonTamworth · 96 miles awayNeeds attention40

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 66% (Essex 72%, England 59%) · Any other White background 7% (Essex 6%, England 7%) · Not recorded 7% (Essex 2%, England 2%) · Black African 5% (Essex 4%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Essex 2%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Essex 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · 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)
11%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
34.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

100.71 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 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

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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
21.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

70% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 21% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 1.95% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

66.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.1 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 £50,783; 7.5% 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£6,998
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 86% (77%) · premises 2% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (6%) · supplies and services 7% (11%) · educational supplies 2% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 0% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£331,000

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

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
86%
Apprenticeship
1%
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)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher34%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications18.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work43.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health49.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier67.9%62.3%
Social housing24.1%17.1%
Privately rented8%20.5%
Detached houses23.2%22.9%
Flats33.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms26.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van14%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034363 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£375,000352 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£312,000–£477,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (81)£550,000
Semi-detached (48)£421,000
Terraced (134)£364,000
Flat (89)£240,000

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
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
30an 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