Chelmer Valley High School

Academy converter·Secondary school Chelmsford, Essex·CM1 7ER
Composite score
56.6
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#1,659
National rank
#185
In East of England
#33
In Essex
Top 52%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
45.3
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
43%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
67%
% EBacc grade 5+
13%
EBacc average points score
3.92

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
86%
196 first choices, 231 places
First choices per place
0.85
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
798
any preference, for 231 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0120221.0420230.8320240.8520250.852026

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

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

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,155
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
20.4%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
3.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
12.6%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.7%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.5%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
16.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.7
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,411
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
96%
193 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
88%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

School overview

Chelmer Valley High School is a secondary school serving Chelmsford, Essex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 1,155 pupils aged 11 to 18 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Chelmer Valley High School 'Good'. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 45.3, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That is down 0.9 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of secondary schools nationally.

43% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 67% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. 86% of the families who made Chelmer Valley High School their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. After Year 11, 96% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.5%. There are about 17.7 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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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