The Sandon School, Chelmsford

In 2026, pupils at The Sandon School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.5 in Essex and 47 across England.

38% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Essex and 47% in England.

That is down from 46.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.15: pupils made above 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 30.6, against 48.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business Studies and History.

For September 2026 entry, 164 families put The Sandon School as their first choice and 708 named it as one of their preferences, for 213 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Sandon School are Great Baddow High School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.3); Moulsham High School (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.8); The Boswells School (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.1); and King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford (2.8 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 83).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than The Sandon School.

Of the 221 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 47% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 102 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 48% went on to university or other higher education, 8% to apprenticeships and 28% into work. 9% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

14.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 5.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 92 pupils (7.6%) received SEN support and 33 (2.7%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Chelmsford Rail Station, about 2.5 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Sandon School (inside), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 39 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Essex (97).

In 2024/25, The Sandon School issued 70 suspensions, 5.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to The Sandon School are Baddow Hall Junior School (0.4 miles), Baddow Hall Infant School (0.4 miles), Larkrise Primary School (1.1 miles) and Meadgate Primary School (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.