Epping St Johns Church of England School Review 2026: The Epping comprehensive with sixth form, structured support, and strong enrichment

For local families, this is the headline fact: it is a state-funded secondary with sixth form, serving students aged 11 to 18 and operating at close to full capacity (around 1,030 students against a capacity of 1,036).

The school’s current legal form dates to 01 November 2017, when it opened as its present establishment, and it sits within the BMAT Education trust.

The leadership figure to know is Mr Michael Yerosimou (Head of School). A publicly available appointment date is not clearly stated in the official sources accessible for this review, so families who care about leadership tenure should confirm directly with the school.

In day-to-day terms, the school positions itself as high-expectations and highly organised, with a visible emphasis on routine (tutor groups, year leadership, and a structured behaviour system) alongside a deliberately broad enrichment offer (clubs, sports, trips, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from Bronze to Gold).

This is a Church of England school, and the faith dimension is not presented as a bolt-on. The documentation describes Christian values as the underpinning for how students are expected to live and learn together, including themes such as dignity, respect, courage, and aspiration.

Pastoral structures are designed to make a large school feel navigable. The prospectus describes a tutor-led model where form tutors are the first point of contact, supported by year leaders and senior leadership oversight. Houses link tutor groups across year groups and create a framework for assemblies and identity beyond the classroom.

The most helpful way to interpret the culture is through the school’s stated routines and the behaviour systems described in official material. A consistent behaviour system is referenced as the mechanism staff use to manage incidents, and there is an explicit ambition to keep expectations common across subjects and year groups. That matters for families because consistency is usually what determines whether students experience school as calm and predictable, or as variable depending on who is teaching.

A practical note for parents: as the only mainstream secondary in Epping, the school carries a strong community function. When a town has a single non-selective secondary, it often means the intake is genuinely mixed, and the school has to do two things at once, stretch the most academic students while also building confidence, literacy, and readiness for examinations for those who arrive with weaker starting points. The support mechanisms described, such as targeted reading and mathematics help and a daily homework club, are coherent responses to that reality.

At GCSE, Epping St Johns is ranked 2,146th in England and 1st in Epping for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is typically what families see from a well-run comprehensive serving a broad intake.

Key GCSE indicators in the latest dataset include an Attainment 8 score of 44.6 and a Progress 8 score of 0.0, suggesting progress overall is in line with the national benchmark once prior attainment is taken into account. EBacc outcomes show 15.2% achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure.

At A-level, the sixth form is ranked 1,646th in England and 1st in Epping for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This sits below England average overall (bottom 40%), which is important context for families who see sixth form as the main reason to stay on.

The grade profile reported shows: 2.27% of grades at A*, 15.91% at A, 23.3% at B, and 41.48% at A* to B combined. Compared with the England benchmark provided for A* to A (23.6%) and A* to B (47.2%), the school’s A-level distribution is lower on these headline top-grade measures, though it remains the main local sixth-form route within the town itself.

A useful way to interpret these figures is to align expectations. GCSE outcomes and progress appear broadly typical for England, with a local rank that reflects being the leading comprehensive option within Epping itself. Sixth form outcomes look more mixed. For many families, the implication is that the sixth form may suit students who value continuity, pastoral familiarity, and a structured support approach, while the most academically specialised students may also want to compare alternative sixth-form settings in the wider Essex and London fringe area.

The clearest academic design feature in the published material is the emphasis on structure: five 60-minute lessons per day is set out as the timetable pattern for Key Stage 3, and Key Stage 4 is described as a three-year phase (Years 9 to 11) with a staged approach to GCSE choices.

That staged options model is a meaningful choice. Example: students begin GCSE option choices during Year 9, with further selection later. Evidence: the stated rationale is that choice becomes “an exciting phase” that increases motivation and improves results. Implication: for some students, earlier agency can increase buy-in; for others, particularly those who mature later or need more time to identify strengths, families should ask how guidance and careers support are delivered before final option commitments.

Support beyond lessons is a recurring theme. The prospectus describes “aspiration sessions” after school, Saturday and holiday school, a daily homework club from 3pm to 4pm, and targeted one-to-one support in reading and mathematics.

For parents, the practical question is not whether these exist, but how they are targeted. High-impact support is usually sharply focused, for example Year 11 students preparing for GCSEs, students retaking key content, or students with specific literacy gaps. The school’s published approach suggests it is attempting to build a high-support, high-expectation model, which can be effective when attendance and routines are strong.

Where Students Go Next

For many families, the sixth form is the key differentiator. The destination dataset for the 2023/24 leaver cohort (79 students) indicates 47% progressed to university, 15% to apprenticeships, 19% to employment, and 1% to further education.

The school also has a small Oxbridge pipeline in the recorded cycle: two students applied to Cambridge, one received an offer, and one acceptance is recorded across Oxford and Cambridge combined. This is not an Oxbridge “machine”, but it does indicate that students with the right profile are supported to apply and succeed.

The implication for families is straightforward. If your child’s plan is university, including competitive courses, you should ask about subject availability, guidance for personal statements, predicted grade support, and the structure of enrichment that builds credible applications. If apprenticeships are in view, the same logic applies, but the questions shift to employer engagement, application coaching, and how work experience is sourced and quality assured.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Admission for Year 7 is coordinated by Essex County Council (rather than direct application to the school).

For September 2026 entry, Essex sets the standard timeline: applications open 12 September 2025 and close 31 October 2025. National Offer Day is 02 March 2026.

Appeals follow a published county timetable. For secondary entry in September 2026, the Essex deadline for submitting appeals is 13 April 2026, with hearings running up to mid-June for on-time appeals and later into July where possible.

Because the “last distance offered” figure is not available here, families should treat catchment and distance as a live question. The most practical step is to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to measure your address-to-gate distance and then cross-check it against the latest local authority allocation data once published for the relevant year.

For sixth form entry (Year 12), most schools operate a direct application process with published entry criteria, and the school has a dedicated sixth form provision referenced in official sources. However, the exact dates and deadlines for sixth-form admissions are not set out in the accessible sources used for this review, so families should confirm the current sixth-form application window with the school.

Ofsted’s most recent full inspection (21 and 22 April 2022) judged the school Good across every headline area, including sixth form.

The same report confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Beyond those headlines, the pastoral model described across the school’s published material is built around tutor contact, year leadership, and a support hub called The Hive, described as a place where students can receive specialist support from teaching assistants for learning or pastoral reasons.

For parents, a useful question is how pastoral support scales in practice for a school of this size. Look for clear “routes” for raising concerns, clarity about early help (attendance, anxiety, friendship issues), and the practical availability of staff at pinch points (start of day, break, lunchtime). The inspection report also points to the importance of students having multiple avenues to report worries, which is a sensible prompt for parents to ask what reporting options exist now and how they are communicated to younger students.

The enrichment offer is unusually well articulated in school-published material, including a named programme, Be Courageous, and a clear expectation that students should participate.

Examples are specific rather than generic. Evidence includes clubs such as Science and Astronomy Club, British Sign Language club, School Newspaper, School Band, Choir club, chess, dance, and a range of sports sessions including football, trampolining, table tennis, netball, basketball, and rugby.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is offered from Bronze through Gold, spanning Year 9 to Year 13. That is meaningful because it provides a structured route to sustained volunteering, skills development, and expedition experience, which is valuable both for personal development and post-16 applications.

Trips and visits are also described with a mix of curriculum and broader development aims, including university trips, Cambridge science trips, exchanges, theatre visits, and local visits such as Epping Forest. The key implication is breadth: a well-planned trips programme often becomes the mechanism by which students see beyond the immediate area and begin to link subjects to real futures.

Facilities named in the prospectus include a multi-use games area (MUGA), an all-weather pitch (ASTRO), break-out computer zones, a dedicated sixth-form area, a chaplaincy space for quiet reflection, and The Hive support space. These specifics matter because they suggest the school has thought about zoning, student support, and how to create places for both active and quiet time within a secondary day.

Transport is a practical strength of the location. Epping is served by the Central line, which can broaden the feasible travel-to-school radius for some families and can also make post-16 travel for part-time work, college links, or wider activities more manageable.

Clear start and finish times for the standard school day are not stated in the accessible sources used for this review. What is published is the internal structure, including five 60-minute lessons per day at Key Stage 3 and a daily homework club running 3pm to 4pm, plus optional additional tuition beyond the normal day. Families should confirm exact timings, including breakfast provision, with the school directly.

• Sixth form outcomes are mixed. The A-level ranking sits below England average overall, and the A* to B percentage (41.48%) is below the England benchmark provided (47.2%). For some students, continuity and pastoral stability will outweigh this; for others, comparing alternative sixth-form routes may be sensible.

• Admissions evidence is incomplete for demand locally. The school’s Year 7 application pressure and any distance-based cut-offs are not available here, so families should treat proximity as a question to verify through Essex allocation data for the relevant year, not as an assumption.

• Structured support is a strength, but it can require buy-in. The published model includes Saturday and holiday school, aspiration sessions, and a daily homework club. Students who engage tend to benefit; students who resist routine support may find expectations feel demanding.

• Faith character is part of the identity. The chaplaincy space and Church of England ethos are positioned as foundational. Families who prefer a fully secular experience should weigh whether this feels aligned.

Epping St Johns Church of England School is a near-capacity, town-centre comprehensive that aims to combine clear routines, high expectations, and a broad enrichment offer with the practical reality of serving a wide intake. GCSE performance sits around the middle of England schools overall, with progress in line with the national benchmark, while sixth form outcomes are more variable.

Who it suits: families seeking a local, structured secondary with a clear enrichment programme, visible student support mechanisms, and a faith-informed ethos, especially where continuity into sixth form is valued. The main decision point for many will be post-16: for some students the sixth form will be the right fit; others should compare alternative sixth-form options before committing. Using FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature can help families keep a disciplined shortlist while they compare travel times, subject options, and sixth-form pathways.