The Hathaway Academy, Grays
The Hathaway Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Grays, part of Academy Transformation Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 5th-highest of the 7 schools in Grays with published results, and 1,734th of 3,298 across England. It was 66% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Thurrock (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Hathaway Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Hathaway Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Thurrock and 47 across England.
43% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 46% in Thurrock and 47% in England.
That is up from 41.1 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.38: 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 40.9, against 48 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.1 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Business Studies.
Getting a place at The Hathaway Academy
For September 2026 entry, 56 families put The Hathaway Academy as their first choice and 269 named it as one of their preferences, for 110 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 2 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to The Hathaway Academy are Grays Convent High School (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.5); William Edwards School (1 mile, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 41.8); Orsett Heath Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 42); and Thames Park Secondary School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.1).
The Hathaway Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Grays Convent High SchoolWilliam Edwards SchoolOrsett Heath AcademyThames Park Secondary School
The trust
The Hathaway Academy is one of 21 schools run by Academy Transformation Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40 in 2024/25.
Where pupils go next
Of the 180 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 73% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.
Who goes there
27% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (29%), Asian (19%) and Black (18%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Grays Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Thurloe Walk (southbound), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 417 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Thurrock (163), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Hathaway Academy issued 133 suspensions, 21.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to The Hathaway Academy are St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Quarry Hill Academy (0.5 miles), Little Thurrock Primary School (0.6 miles) and Deneholm Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolQuarry Hill AcademyLittle Thurrock Primary SchoolDeneholm Primary School
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); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils feel happy, safe and secure at school. They respond well to the expectations set in the school's 'pride drives'. These include good manners and strong discipline.
Reflecting these attributes, pupils show pride in their work. They are keen to do their best, but sometimes their work is too easy. This means that pupils do not always achieve as highly as they could.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has devised a curriculum with the ambition of 'making dreams a reality'. The curriculum is at least as broad as the national curriculum. Its intention is to develop pupils' global capital and promote aspirations.
To underpin these aspirations, the school prioritises pupils' reading skills. The school identifies weaker readers as soon as they join the school. These pupils then receive effective reading interventions to enable them to quickly access the full curriculum.
From Ofsted's June 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2015 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
About
The Hathaway Academy, formerly the Grays School Media Arts College, is a coeducational, non-selective secondary school with academy status that is located in Grays, Essex, England. It is currently part of the Academy Transformation Trust.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
32.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.26 to -0.38 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 40.0 to 45.5 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 35% to 43% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 45.5 | 42.9% |
| Disadvantaged(43) | - | 40.9 | 32.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(76) | - | 48.0 | 48.7% |
| Boys(76) | - | 45.2 | 43.4% |
| Girls(43) | - | 46.0 | 41.9% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(38) | - | 45.8 | 44.7% |
| Non mobile(104) | - | 45.5 | 44.2% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 3 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 180 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
133
Suspensions
21.88%
Suspension rate
66 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 608 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with The Hathaway Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Hathaway Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Hathaway Academy is in Thurrock; for families living there:
- Thurrock's school travel policy: Home to school travel and transport policy
- How to apply: apply for school travel support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 22
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 22 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 18 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
5 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 Thurrock is 12 (the median across 58 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 The Hathaway Academy
Will you get a place at The Hathaway Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Hathaway Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Hathaway Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Hathaway Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Thurrock, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Hathaway Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Thurrock 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.
£9.99 once
One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.
Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time
A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
597 pupils
900 places
303 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Grays
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Grays
Across Thurrock council
Places available
2,395
Applications
2,478
Got 1st preference
74.8%
Got preferred school
92.7%
All secondary applications across Thurrock council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
97
SEN Support
19
EHC Plans
19.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
586
Total Pupils
365
Boys
221
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
32
Teachers
18.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£59,436
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,734
Per pupil
£4981k
Total funding
£197k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.5%
Overall absence
24.5%
Persistent absence
664
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
The Hathaway Academy
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Questions parents ask about The Hathaway Academy
What are GCSE results like at The Hathaway Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Hathaway Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 45.5. 43% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Hathaway Academy's Ofsted rating?
The Hathaway Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Hathaway Academy?
No fixed boundary. When The Hathaway Academy is oversubscribed, Thurrock allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at The Hathaway Academy?
The Hathaway Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 900 places.
How big are the classes at The Hathaway Academy?
Classes at The Hathaway Academy average 27.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Hathaway Academy?
The Hathaway Academy has around 586 pupils on roll. 32% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Hathaway Academy?
8.5% of sessions were missed at The Hathaway Academy in 2024/25. 24.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Hathaway Academy?
Apply through Thurrock's coordinated admissions process, naming The Hathaway Academy 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 The Hathaway Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 22 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 18 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 2 on a bicycle. 5 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 Thurrock is 12 (the median across 58 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Hathaway Academy?
The Hathaway Academy is at Hathaway Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 5LL.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)