70%
GCSE 9–4 · 2024/25
50%
GCSE 5+ · 2024/25
46.6
Attainment 8 · 2024/25
35%
EBacc entry · 2024/25
866.7
EBacc APS · 2024/25
1,309
Pupils · 2024/25
5%
EAL · 2024/25
29%
Persistent abs. · 2024/25
Ofsted inspection
Good
Ofsted inspection · 10/10/2023
Inadequate
Requires improvement
Good
Outstanding
Local authorityEssex
PhaseAll-through with sixth form
School typeAcademy
Pupil : teacher ratio19.1:1
AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterNone
StatusOpen
Overview of Helena Romanes School · All-through · Essex
Part ofSAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST
How does this school perform?
Key Stage 4 · 2024/25 · trend since 2016/17
GCSE 9–4 incl. Eng & maths
70%
+6pp
71%68%64%
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 70%
GCSE 5+ incl. Eng & maths
50%
+15pp
50%43%35%
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 50%
Attainment 8
46.6
+4.5
49.045.542.1
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 46.6
EBacc entry
35%
-3pp
54%44%35%
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 35%
EBacc APS
866.7
+221.6
977.7811.4645.1
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 866.7
Sixth form
Key Stage 5 · 2024/25 · trend since 2016/17
A-level APS
25.0
-4.1
33.128.223.3
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 25.0
A-level value added
-0.54
-0.2
-0.2-0.4-0.5
'17'18'19'24'25
'25 · -0.5
AAB+ in facilitating subjects
0%
-3pp
7%3%0%
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · 0%
Average A-level grade
D+
-1
C+C-D
'19'22'23'24'25
'25 · D+
Pupils & context
2024/25
Pupils on roll
1,309
Pupil : teacher ratio
19.1
Workforce data · 2025/26
EAL
5%
FSM eligible
19%
SEN
17%
Overall absence
10%
Persistent absence
29%
Contact
Address
Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, CM6 2AU
Local authority
Essex
Telephone
Email
—
History
All years · Historical DfE data by academic year
Primary — Key Stage 2
Reading, writing and maths attainment and progress scores from DfE.
| Year | RWM expected | RWM higher | Reading exp. | Reading hi. | Writing exp. | Writing hi. | Maths exp. | Maths hi. | Science | SPAG exp. | Read. score | Maths score | GPS score | Reading prog. | Writing prog. | Maths prog. | SEN | Cohort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | — | — | — | 17% | 1,309 |
| 2023/24 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | — | — | — | 18% | 1,287 |
| 2022/23 | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | 18% | 1,264 |
DfE did not publish reading, writing or maths progress for 2023/24 or 2024/25. These year groups had no KS1 assessments (cancelled in 2020 and 2021), so progress could not be calculated. Attainment figures above are still published.
Secondary — Key Stage 4
GCSE attainment and Progress 8 — how pupils progressed from KS2 to KS4.
| Year | GCSE 9–4 | GCSE 5+ | Attainment 8 | Progress 8 | EBacc entry | EBacc APS | EBacc lang entry | Cohort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 70% | 50% | 46.6 | Not applicable | 35% | 866.7 | 36% | 1,309 |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 35% | 42.1 | -0.38 | 38% | 645.1 | 39% | 1,287 |
| 2022/23 | 69% | 46% | 45.1 | -0.30 | 36% | 877.4 | 37% | 1,264 |
| 2021/22 | 71% | 50% | 49.0 | -0.11 | 44% | 977.7 | 46% | 1,249 |
| 2018/19 | 65% | 36% | 44.7 | -0.35 | 54% | 753.8 | 55% | 1,198 |
| 2017/18 | 58% | 32% | 44.3 | -0.24 | 54% | 796.8 | 55% | 1,168 |
| 2016/17 | 68% | 44% | 47.2 | -0.16 | 56% | — | 58% | 1,220 |
Sixth form — Key Stage 5
| Year | A-level APS | Avg grade | VA progress | AAB+ | Cohort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 25.0 | D+ | -0.54 | 0% | 96 |
| 2023/24 | 29.1 | C | -0.31 | 3% | 84 |
| 2022/23 | 30.1 | C | — | 7% | 67 |
| 2021/22 | 33.1 | C+ | — | 4% | 64 |
| 2018/19 | 23.3 | D+ | -0.53 | 0% | 59 |
| 2017/18 | 22.4 | D+ | -0.16 | 4% | 96 |
| 2016/17 | 24.8 | D+ | -0.36 | 2% | 89 |
Pupils & absence
| Year | Pupils | Pupil:teacher | SEN | EAL | FSM ever | Absence | Persistent absence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 1,309 | 18.6 | 17% | 5% | 19% | 10% | 29% |
| 2023/24 | 1,287 | 17.3 | 18% | 4% | 19% | 11% | 33% |
| 2022/23 | 1,264 | 17.7 | 18% | 3% | 16% | 10% | 30% |
| 2021/22 | 1,249 | 17.0 | 20% | 3% | 13% | 10% | 30% |
| 2020/21 | 1,222 | 18.6 | 19% | 3% | 11% | — | — |
| 2018/19 | 1,198 | 18.8 | 14% | 3% | 14% | 5% | 15% |
| 2017/18 | 1,168 | 16.9 | 12% | 3% | 14% | 6% | 15% |
| 2016/17 | 1,220 | 18.1 | 11% | 3% | 14% | 6% | 15% |
School performance data © Crown copyright. Source: Department for Education.