King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
For September 2026 entry, 118 families put King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy as their first choice and 166 named it as one of their preferences, for 178 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.
Demand has been fairly steady: 138 first choices in 2021, against 118 in 2026.
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).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 178 | 118 | 166 | 0.7 | 0 |
| 2025 | 149 | 116 | 156 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2024 | 210 | 161 | 213 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2023 | 180 | 137 | 181 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2022 | 156 | 143 | 186 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 161 | 138 | 177 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 142 | 123 | 182 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2019 | 144 | 110 | 155 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2018 | 129 | 90 | 137 | 0.7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 142 | 95 | 146 | 0.7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 94 | 71 | 118 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2015 | 133 | 70 | 107 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 2014 | 163 | 116 | 161 | 0.7 | 0 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.