Woodlands School

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Basildon, Essex·SS16 5BA
Composite score
52.6
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#2,204
National rank
#244
In East of England
#48
In Essex
Top 70%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
42.1
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
33%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
55%
% EBacc grade 5+
22%
EBacc average points score
3.85

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
62%
399 first choices, 287 places
First choices per place
1.39
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
1,095
any preference, for 287 places
Applications from another council area
5%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.04
00.511.52
1 per place
1.3720221.5220231.4520241.3520251.392026

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
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,492
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
33.0%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
15.1%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
9.9%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.3%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
23.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.7
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,909
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
84%
296 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
73%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
5%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

School overview

Woodlands School is a secondary school serving Basildon, Essex, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. It has 1,492 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 42.1, below the national average of 46. That is down 1.5 points in its Attainment 8 score on 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.

33% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 55% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 62% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (399 first choices for 287 places). After Year 11, 84% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.3%. There are about 16.7 pupils per teacher. Woodlands School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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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