Harris Academy Benfleet, Benfleet

In 2025, pupils at Harris Academy Benfleet averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Essex and 46.8 across England.

32% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Essex and 46% in England.

That is down from 41.9 in 2024.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.63: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2025.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 29.9, against 43.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 31 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business and History.

For September 2026 entry, 203 families put Harris Academy Benfleet as their first choice and 761 named it as one of their preferences, for 297 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places, so in 2026 a family who put it first could expect an offer unless the school's other criteria ruled them out.

First-choice demand has fallen from 311 in 2021 to 203 in 2026, while places went from 300 to 297.

Across Essex, 83% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.

In 2025, families in Essex lodged 807 appeals against secondary school offers; 645 reached a hearing and 99 succeeded (15.3% of those heard).

The nearest other state secondary schools to Harris Academy Benfleet are The King John School (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.6); The Deanes (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 34.4); The Basildon Upper Academy (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 28.7); and The Cornelius Vermuyden School (2.6 miles).

Harris Academy Benfleet's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Harris Academy Benfleet is one of 59 schools run by Harris Federation, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 51.3 in 2023/24, with a Progress 8 score of 0.48 (zero is the national average).

228 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Harris Academy Benfleet (as of September 2025): 58% would recommend the school, 72% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (80%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (53%).

Of the 264 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2022/23, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 55% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 95 students who left the sixth form in 2022/23, 38% went on to university or other higher education, 17% to apprenticeships and 36% into work. 15% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

15% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (the average state school: 24.5%), and 6.9% speak English as an additional language (average: 18.5%), according to the 2025 school census.

In 2025, 233 pupils (14.9%) received SEN support and 34 (2.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 15.6% and 3.9% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

Harris Academy Benfleet employed 86 teachers in 2024, roughly one for every 18 pupils. Their average salary was £51,322.

Its 2026 funding allocation works out at £6,661 per pupil (£9.9 million in total), including £301,000 of pupil premium for disadvantaged pupils.

The nearest railway station is Benfleet Rail Station, about 1.4 miles away.

3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Spinnakers (opposite), 150 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Harris Academy Benfleet stands in is among the 30% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 111 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and other theft. That is close to the typical figure around schools in Essex (98).

In 2023/24, Harris Academy Benfleet issued 86 suspensions, 5.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 2.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Harris Academy Benfleet are Jotmans Hall Primary School (0.2 miles), Kents Hill Junior School (0.4 miles), Kents Hill Infant Academy (0.4 miles) and Holy Family Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.