The Ongar Academy

Free schools·Secondary school Ongar, Essex·CM5 0AN
Composite score
46.8
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#2,820
National rank
#322
In East of England
#67
In Essex
Top 89%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
37.4
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
26%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
51%
% EBacc grade 5+
13%
EBacc average points score
3.23

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
90 first choices, 107 places
First choices per place
0.84
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
193
any preference, for 107 places
Applications from another council area
3%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.04
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9620220.8620230.7220240.8120250.842026

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

Every child who put The Ongar Academy 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
11–18
Pupils on roll
511
Gender
Mixed

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
30.3%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
5.3%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
10.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.1%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
11.8%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
32.9%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
14.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,200
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
91%
112 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
84%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
4%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The Ongar Academy

The Ongar Academy is a secondary school in Ongar, Essex, classified by the DfE as a free school. Around 511 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 37.4 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.5 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%. 51% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made The Ongar Academy their first choice was offered one of its 107 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 91% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 11.8%. There are about 14.8 pupils per teacher. The Ongar Academy 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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