Lift Maltings

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Witham, Essex·CM8 1EP
Composite score
49.9
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#2,522
National rank
#281
In East of England
#55
In Essex
Top 79%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
39.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
42%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
64%
% EBacc grade 5+
10%
EBacc average points score
3.33

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Requires improvement
Quality of education
Requires improvement
Behaviour and attitudes
Requires improvement
Personal development
Requires improvement
Leadership and management
Requires improvement
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
105 first choices, 128 places
First choices per place
0.82
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
204
any preference, for 128 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.06
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9720220.8420230.8220240.8820250.822026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Lift Maltings first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
841
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
25.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
6.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.9%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.1%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
12.8%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
35.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.6
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,905
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
88%
170 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
82%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
5%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Lift Maltings

Lift Maltings is a secondary school in Witham, Essex, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 841 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Requires improvement' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 39.9 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 0.9 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

42% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 64% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Lift Maltings their first choice was offered one of its 128 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 88% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 12.8%. There are about 17.6 pupils per teacher. If you are considering Lift Maltings, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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