Hedingham School and Sixth Form

Hedingham School and Sixth Form continues to maintain a good standard of education, showing a positive culture of respect and inclusivity among pupils. The school demonstrates a commitment to broadening pupils' experiences through extracurricular activities and effective career guidance. While leaders have responded proactively to improve curriculum delivery following past disappointing exam results, they recognize ongoing challenges in ensuring high uptake in language subjects and the effectiveness of personal development education, particularly in the sixth form.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate politeness and respect, embodying school values.
• Positive relationships exist between pupils and staff.
• Effective curriculum design helps pupils build knowledge over time.
• Teachers identify misconceptions and provide useful feedback.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND leads to successful achievement.

Areas for Improvement

• Low uptake of languages at GCSE level impacts English Baccalaureate entry.
• Personal development curriculum lacks rigor and consistency in delivery.

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 Hedingham School and Sixth Form attended 89.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.6% 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, 3.7% of pupils at Hedingham School and Sixth Form were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 Hedingham School and Sixth Form had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 8.7% of pupils at Hedingham School and Sixth Form 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 Hedingham School and Sixth Form received £7,162 and spent £6,982 for each of its 1,156 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £107,000 (£93 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.

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What is Hedingham School and Sixth Form's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hedingham School and Sixth Form is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Hedingham School and Sixth Form last inspected by Ofsted?

Hedingham School and Sixth Form was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Hedingham School and Sixth Form have?

Hedingham School and Sixth Form has 1,177 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hedingham School and Sixth Form cover?

Hedingham School and Sixth Form for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Hedingham School and Sixth Form's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.5, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hedingham School and Sixth Form?

Hedingham School and Sixth Form is at Yeldham Road, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 3QH.