The James Hornsby School

School overview

The James Hornsby School is a secondary school serving Basildon, Essex, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. It has 1,037 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. Ofsted rated the school 'Good' in February 2026. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 38.9 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.3 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

26% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 46% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. The James Hornsby School is oversubscribed: about 7 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 259 first choices for 202 places. After Year 11, 87% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.3%. There are about 14.7 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 48% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. 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.