Roding Valley High School

Roding Valley High School has been assessed as good overall, with outstanding provision in the sixth form. Since opening as an academy in 2018, the school has maintained high expectations for pupils, who express pride in their school experience and appreciate the support from staff. The curriculum is well-designed to prepare students for their next steps, especially benefiting those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. While behaviour and attitudes are positive, with effective safeguarding measures in place, there are areas that leaders need to improve regarding teacher assessments and monitoring student participation in personal development opportunities.

Strengths

• High expectations from leaders foster pride among pupils.
• Well-designed curriculum supporting knowledge retention.
• Strong behaviour and a culture of respect in the school.
• Effective strategies to support pupils with SEND.
• Outstanding provision and student commitment in the sixth form.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checks on pupils' understanding of content.
• Insufficient monitoring of participation in personal development opportunities.

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 Roding Valley High School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.8% 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, 10.0% of pupils at Roding Valley High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Roding Valley High School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.1% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Roding Valley High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.3% 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 Roding Valley High School received £8,154 and spent £8,234 for each of its 1,441 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,473,000 (£1,716 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of The Chelmsford Learning Partnership, income was £6,917 and spending £6,857 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 Loughton · Essex local authority: places and applications

Roding Valley High School is part of The Chelmsford Learning Partnership, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Perryfields Infant School Chelmsford
• The Tyrrells School Chelmsford
• The Boswells School Chelmsford
• Runwell Community Primary School Wickford
• Barnes Farm Primary School Chelmsford
• The Beaulieu Park School Chelmsford
• Rettendon Primary School Chelmsford
• Woodville Primary School Chelmsford
• William de Ferrers School Chelmsford
• Lakelands Primary School Colchester

What is Roding Valley High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Roding Valley High School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was Roding Valley High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Roding Valley High School was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does Roding Valley High School have?

Roding Valley High School has 1,473 pupils on roll.

What age range does Roding Valley High School cover?

Roding Valley High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Roding Valley High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.2, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Roding Valley High School?

Roding Valley High School is at Alderton Hill, Loughton, Essex, IG10 3JA.