Lift Tendring, Frinton-on-Sea
Lift Tendring is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in Frinton-on-Sea, part of Lift Schools. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2024. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 60th-highest of the 80 schools in Essex with published results, and 2,542nd of 3,298 across England. It was 76% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Essex (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Lift Tendring in detail
Lift Tendring in its own words
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at Lift Tendring averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.5 in Essex and 47 across England.
35% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Essex and 47% in England.
That is up from 36.9 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.36: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 32.6, against 44.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.7 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Business Studies.
Getting a place at Lift Tendring
For September 2026 entry, 210 families put Lift Tendring as their first choice and 335 named it as one of their preferences, for 228 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Lift Tendring are Clacton County High School (5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.5); and Lift Clacton (5.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 29.6).
Lift Tendring's 2026 results were higher than all 2 of them.
The trust
Lift Tendring is one of 62 schools run by Lift Schools, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.7 in 2024/25.
Where pupils go next
Of the 303 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 78% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 31% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.
Of the 103 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 28% went on to university or other higher education, 13% to apprenticeships and 30% into work. 3% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Who goes there
2.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 239 pupils (16.3%) received SEN support and 92 (6.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Frinton-on-Sea Rail Station, about 780 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Upper School (nw-bound), 70 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Lift Tendring issued 424 suspensions, 27.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Lift Tendring are Lift Hamford (0.3 miles), Frinton-on-Sea Primary School (0.6 miles), Walton on the Naze Primary School (1.2 miles) and Kirby Primary Academy (1.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Lift HamfordFrinton-on-Sea Primary SchoolWalton on the Naze Primary SchoolKirby Primary Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its May 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Sixth form.
At a Glance
30.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.19 to -0.36 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 40.8 to 40.6 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 35% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 40.6 | 35.4% |
| Disadvantaged(90) | - | 32.6 | 22.2% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(198) | - | 44.3 | 41.4% |
| Boys(134) | - | 40.3 | 35.1% |
| Girls(154) | - | 41.0 | 35.7% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(8) | - | 47.8 | 37.5% |
| Non mobile(279) | - | 41.0 | 35.8% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 7 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 303 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.13%
Exclusion rate
424
Suspensions
27.28%
Suspension rate
135 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,554 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 3 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Lift Tendring
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Lift Tendring from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Lift Tendring is in Essex; for families living there:
- Essex's school travel policy: Education Transport Policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 1 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Lift Tendring
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What the report includes for Lift Tendring:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Lift Tendring.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Essex, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Lift Tendring for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Essex got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
76%
Available places
1,514 pupils
1,980 places
466 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Frinton-on-Sea
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Frinton-on-Sea
Across Essex council
Places available
17,590
Applications
16,568
Got 1st preference
83.4%
Got preferred school
97.0%
All secondary applications across Essex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
239
SEN Support
92
EHC Plans
22.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,464
Total Pupils
731
Boys
733
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
95
Teachers
15.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,051
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,334
Per pupil
£11085k
Total funding
£461k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
14.2%
Overall absence
37.7%
Persistent absence
1,473
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Lift Tendring
What are GCSE results like at Lift Tendring?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Lift Tendring achieved an Attainment 8 score of 40.6. 35% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Lift Tendring's Ofsted rating?
Lift Tendring was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2021 it was rated Inadequate.
What is the catchment area for Lift Tendring?
No fixed boundary. When Lift Tendring is oversubscribed, Essex allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Lift Tendring?
Lift Tendring was not full in 2025: it ran at 76% of its 1980 places.
How big are the classes at Lift Tendring?
Classes at Lift Tendring average 22.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Lift Tendring?
Lift Tendring has around 1464 pupils on roll. 30% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Lift Tendring?
14.2% of sessions were missed at Lift Tendring in 2024/25. 37.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Lift Tendring?
Apply through Essex's coordinated admissions process, naming Lift Tendring on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Lift Tendring?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 1 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Lift Tendring?
Lift Tendring is at Rochford Way, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, CO13 0AZ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)