The Gateway Academy

The Gateway Academy has effectively maintained the standards set during its previous inspection, with a strong sense of community evident among pupils and their families. The school promotes an ethos of kindness, which supports pupil well-being and contributes to high attendance rates. Behaviour is exemplary, with pupils eager to learn and exhibiting a positive culture throughout the school, including the help of anti-bullying ambassadors. The curriculum is ambitious, particularly in English and Mathematics, and pupils with special educational needs are well-supported, achieving success accordingly.

Strengths

• Strong sense of community and well-being among pupils
• Exemplary behaviour and high attendance rates
• High expectations for learning across all subjects
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs
• Coherent personal development curriculum
• Effective careers education and guidance

Areas for Improvement

• Some learning activities do not effectively facilitate knowledge acquisition
• Inconsistent connections made between prior and future learning

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Gateway Academy attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.0% of pupils at The Gateway Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Gateway Academy had 13.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.8% of pupils at The Gateway Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Gateway Academy received £9,463 and spent £9,908 for each of its 1,033 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £213,000 (-£206 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Gateway Learning Community, income was £8,044 and spending £8,021 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Grays · Thurrock local authority: places and applications

The Gateway Academy is part of Gateway Learning Community, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• The Gateway Primary Free School Grays
• Tilbury Pioneer Academy Tilbury
• Herringham Primary Academy Grays
• Lansdowne Primary Academy Tilbury

What is The Gateway Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Gateway Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was The Gateway Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Gateway Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does The Gateway Academy have?

The Gateway Academy has 1,030 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Gateway Academy cover?

The Gateway Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Gateway Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.0, and 56% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Gateway Academy?

The Gateway Academy is at Marshfoot Road, Grays, Essex, RM16 4LU.