Alec Hunter Academy

Alec Hunter Academy remains a good school, showing notable strengths in pupil satisfaction, engagement, and a supportive learning environment. Pupils feel safe, enjoy their lessons, and benefit from a wide range of extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience. Leaders have clearly articulated their vision for improvement, particularly in expanding the curriculum and supporting all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Parent and pupil feedback reflects a warm and welcoming atmosphere where bullying is rare and appropriately managed.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and feel safe at school.
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils support a positive learning environment.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND allows them to fully participate in lessons.
• Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and provide effective feedback.
• The curriculum offers a broad range of subjects and opportunities for cultural enrichment.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils are persistently absent, impacting their learning.
• Opportunities for pupils to practice and test their knowledge are insufficient in some cases.

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 Alec Hunter Academy attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.9% 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, 4.0% of pupils at Alec Hunter 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 Alec Hunter Academy had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.4% 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, 14.2% of pupils at Alec Hunter Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Alec Hunter Academy received £7,554 and spent £7,722 for each of its 1,068 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £410,000 (£384 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Saffron Academy Trust, income was £7,613 and spending £7,555 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 Braintree · Essex local authority: places and applications

Alec Hunter Academy is part of Saffron Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Beckers Green Primary School Braintree
• Honywood School Colchester
• Helena Romanes School Great Dunmow
• Katherine Semar Infant School Saffron Walden
• Katherine Semar Junior School Saffron Walden
• R A Butler Infant School Saffron Walden
• R A Butler Junior School Saffron Walden
• Saffron Walden County High School Saffron Walden

What is Alec Hunter Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Alec Hunter Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was Alec Hunter Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Alec Hunter Academy was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does Alec Hunter Academy have?

Alec Hunter Academy has 1,058 pupils on roll.

What age range does Alec Hunter Academy cover?

Alec Hunter Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Alec Hunter Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.1, and 50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Alec Hunter Academy?

Alec Hunter Academy is at Stubbs Lane, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3NR.