Orsett Heath Academy

A sports aptitude route, student-chosen values and a school building opened after years in temporary accommodation give Orsett Heath Academy a distinctive starting point. This mixed, non-selective state secondary serves students aged 11 to 16 in Grays, Essex. Its whole-school roll is 564, with capacity for 1,200. There are no tuition fees.

Sian Rawson is the headteacher. The academy belongs to South West Essex Community Education Trust, and its priorities combine academic ambition with sport, the arts and support for different learning needs. Ofsted rated it Good following the visit on 17 and 18 October 2023, with Outstanding leadership and management. The practical caveats are substantial demand for places and a short GCSE track record: its first GCSE cohort sat examinations in summer 2025.

Students have helped define this school's identity rather than simply inherit it. They selected the values of respect, potential, effort and courage in September 2020, the month the academy opened. Those choices put personal responsibility alongside aspiration. They also give families a useful way to discuss expectations with a child: participation and persistence matter here, as well as grades.

The physical setting has changed considerably. In September 2024, the academy moved into its permanent premises. The building has classrooms with natural light and facilities for practical subjects, including music, drama, dance and catering. Lift access and broad corridors are concrete advantages for students with mobility needs. Families should assess the setting as it operates today, rather than picture the temporary accommodation used during its early years.

In October 2023, students showed determination despite accommodation difficulties. Friendships crossed year groups, teachers gave additional help beyond lessons, and students contributed to the badge and decisions about school life. That history explains the emphasis on shared responsibility. It should also be read in its period: the school was smaller and had not yet moved into its permanent building.

A house system began in September 2024. Students chose a Greek Mythology theme and the names APOLLO, ARTEMIS, ATHENA and ATLAS. Tutors remain the first contact for everyday concerns, while House Leaders oversee students within their house. The arrangement gives students both a familiar adult and a wider group to represent in competitions. For parents, it also clarifies where to start when something needs attention.

Summer 2025 results, covering the 2024/25 school year, provide the first GCSE benchmark for Orsett Heath Academy. Across 113 students at the end of Key Stage 4, the Attainment 8 score was 47 points. The English Baccalaureate average point score was 4.11, and 15.9% achieved grades 5 or above across the English Baccalaureate subjects. These are different measures, so they should be considered separately rather than treated as interchangeable descriptions of success.

FindMySchool's proprietary rankings are built from official data. (Ranked against all schools in England with published GCSE results, state and independent.) Its overall England position is 2,378th. Within Thurrock, its local position is 6th. The academic position is the relevant starting point when comparing examination performance.

Separately, the school reports that over three-quarters passed English and Maths in its first GCSE cohort in 2025. Keep that broad statement alongside the specific measures above, rather than substituting it for them. Families choosing for academic reasons should ask how achievement varies between subjects and what support is available where a student falls behind.

This is an early results history, not a long sequence of examination cohorts. Its value is that families can now assess actual GCSE performance alongside the school's teaching and support arrangements. The sensible next question is how those arrangements will help an individual student, rather than whether a single cohort tells the whole story.

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Reading support has substance here. In October 2023, assessment helped staff choose interventions for fluency and comprehension, while specialist phonics teaching supported students who needed it. Teachers also returned to material students had not securely understood. That combination matters: difficulty with reading can affect access to subjects well beyond English, so help needs to address the underlying skill as well as the immediate task.

Academic ambition also appeared in the content students encountered. English included folklore from China and Russia, linking literature with understanding the wider world. More demanding articles and additional tuition extended learning, with specialist vocabulary taught to help students tackle the material. Challenge was accompanied by preparation, rather than simply assigning harder work.

The Key Stage 3 curriculum includes science, mathematics and English alongside subjects such as geography, history, drama, music, Art & Design and Design & Technology. Homework in the core subjects is set weekly through Sparx Science, Sparx Maths and Sparx Reader. A separate weekly revision activity revisits knowledge from other subjects and lasts no more than 30 minutes. An after-school homework club provides another route to completing work, useful for students who need help establishing independent routines.

For SEND, Angela Davies is the SENCo and an Assistant Headteacher. Support plans are shared with families through Edukey, with termly reviews and opportunities for parents to comment. Provision can include reader pens, coloured paper, mentoring and additional adult support in some lessons. Forest School and Learning through Sport are available where appropriate, alongside interventions addressing literacy, numeracy or phonics. These are tailored options, not an identical package for every student.

GCSE preparation includes parent guidance on revision techniques and resources for independent study, including GCSE Pod. For students needing examination access arrangements, assessment and formal application through JCQ are required. Families should raise these needs early: classroom support and examination adjustments involve related but separate decisions.

Orsett Heath Academy ends at Year 11 and has no sixth form. Choosing it therefore includes planning a move to another provider after GCSEs. Its first Year 11 cohort was in summer 2025, so families should distinguish support for that transition from evidence of established destination patterns.

Students receive help with applications to colleges, apprenticeships and sixth forms. The move into GCSE and BTEC courses also begins earlier, with preparation for options decisions in Year 9 and involvement from parents. This matters because subject choices and the support needed to complete them can shape what is realistic at 16.

For students with SEND, transition support includes communication with the next provider and a handover explaining individual needs. Additional careers interviews and application support can involve parents where appropriate. Families should ask how their child's support plan will transfer and who will coordinate the handover, rather than assume that an effective arrangement will automatically continue unchanged.

A breakdown of leavers' destinations would help parents assess where students actually progress. This is not published in the evidence we hold.

For September 2027 Year 7 entry, applications go through Thurrock Council. The closing date is 31 October 2026, with offers due on 1 March 2027 for applications submitted by the deadline. In-year applications also go to the Local Authority. South West Essex Community Education Trust is the admission authority, so application coordination and responsibility for deciding the arrangements sit with different bodies.

The Year 7 published admission number is 240. Children whose Education, Health and Care Plan names the academy are admitted before the oversubscription priorities are applied. Those priorities then run from looked-after and previously looked-after children to sports aptitude places; qualifying children of trust employees come next, followed by siblings, students from named feeder schools and other applicants. Employee priority requires at least two years of trust employment at application, or recruitment to a vacancy with a demonstrable skills shortage.

The feeder schools for September 2027 entry are Woodside Academy, Stifford Clays Primary School, Little Thurrock Primary School, Deneholm Primary School, Chadwell St Mary Primary School and Orsett Church of England Primary school. Where applicants have equal priority within a criterion and places are insufficient, straight-line distance acts as the tie-breaker. Families should identify their relevant priority before assessing the likelihood of a place.

Demand is substantial. In 2025 there were 729 applications and 237 offers, approximately 3.08 applications for each offer. Those totals are not a prediction of an individual family's chance. They do establish that a place should not be assumed.

Up to 24 students, representing 10% of the intake, can enter through sports aptitude each year. For September 2027, that application window closed at 3pm on 25 September 2026, and testing was scheduled for 5 and 6 October 2026, with the second date dependent on demand. Results are due to be posted on 22 October 2026. Applicants needed both the school sports form and the Local Authority application; an aptitude result does not guarantee admission.

The September 2027 open evening has already taken place. Check the school's open-day page for further opportunities to visit. Appeals for that intake can be lodged from 2 March 2027. If a place is refused, families can also request a waiting-list place; priority follows the admissions criteria rather than the date a name was added.

There are several ways to raise a concern. Students can approach their tutor, speak directly to the Safeguarding Team or use TooToot when a face-to-face conversation feels difficult. Concerns sent through TooToot reach safeguarding staff. Posters identify the team around school, including in classrooms, making the route to help visible as well as available.

Tutors check equipment, discuss behaviour points and lead activities and competitions. They also provide a regular point of contact for parents. House Leaders add oversight across the house, so pastoral responsibility does not depend on a student knowing every member of staff. This is a useful structure for a child making the transition from primary school.

Peer involvement includes the Wellbeing Team and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. The former promotes understanding of mental health; the latter receives training to support peers and challenge bullying. Student roles do not replace adult responsibility, but they give students additional ways to take part in improving everyday school life.

Safeguarding arrangements were effective in October 2023. At that time, lessons were calm, staff helped students with more complex behaviours make appropriate choices, and SEND support enabled students with communication difficulties to ask questions. The emphasis was on participation in learning, not simply managing behaviour away from it.

Support can include counselling, mentoring, social skills work and help with managing emotions. Oasis Club is a named nurture option. Specialist referrals depend on the relevant criteria, so external services should not be treated as automatically available to every student. For a family with a specific concern, the useful discussion is about the child's needs, the proposed support and how its impact will be reviewed.

Sport is a defining part of the academy's offer. Extracurricular activities include athletics, rugby, football and netball, supported by a gym and courts for tennis, basketball, badminton and netball. Access to external facilities, including athletics tracks, adds opportunities beyond the school site. These are concrete reasons to consider the academy for an active student, although sports aptitude admission is a separate, limited route.

The school describes performance through sport and the arts as an important part of its identity. Facilities cover Art, Music, Drama and Dance, giving those interests a physical place within school life. Extra Music tuition is among the purchases handled through WisePay. Families interested in performance should ask about the activities running for their child's year group and how participation fits around homework.

Students are encouraged to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme at Bronze level in Year 9, with progression to Silver also available. The combination of expedition, volunteering, physical activity and learning a skill creates a sustained project beyond ordinary lessons. It is especially relevant for a student who enjoys working towards a practical goal over time.

Leadership has several entry points. Sports Captains represent sporting values, House Captains encourage participation in competitions, and the Student Council communicates students' ideas and concerns. Head Students are selected from Year 11, with Deputy Head Students and Student Prefects taking supporting responsibilities. These roles give students specific tasks, from helping at events to representing peers, rather than treating leadership as a label alone.

Morning tutor time begins at 8.35am. The day finishes at 3.20pm on Monday and 3.05pm from Tuesday to Friday. The stated school week totals 32 hours and 45 minutes. Clubs can take place before and after school, so families should confirm collection arrangements for the activities their child chooses.

Upcoming 2026/27 dates include the autumn half-term break from 19 to 30 October 2026 and the spring term starting on 5 January 2027. Check the school's term-date calendar when arranging childcare and travel. Eligibility enquiries about home-to-school transport and free school meals go to Thurrock Borough Council.

Students can bring a packed lunch or buy food, with a vegetarian option available. Class Charts carries communication home, while WisePay handles purchases such as meals, visits and extra Music tuition. Paper communication can be requested. Full uniform is expected, and phones must remain switched off and stored during the school day.

Although tuition is free, uniform and optional activities can create costs. School-day visits may request voluntary contributions, but a student cannot be excluded for non-payment if the visit proceeds. Optional visits outside school time can require agreed payment. Limited assistance is available for families in difficult financial circumstances, subject to a headteacher decision.

• Growth after the move. The October 2023 improvement priority was to keep reviewing staffing and organisational plans as the academy expanded and transferred to permanent accommodation. The move happened in September 2024. Families should ask how the school now protects continuity of teaching and personal support as it grows.
• Competition for admission. The 2025 round had approximately 3.08 applications per offer. Sports aptitude entry is limited, and its September 2027 application deadline has passed. Understand your priority category and retain realistic alternative preferences.
• An early GCSE track record. Summer 2025 was the first examination cohort. The results are a useful benchmark, but families should examine subject support and individual expectations alongside them rather than assume a settled pattern across many years.
• A further move at 16. There is no sixth form, so every student needs a post-16 destination elsewhere. Careers guidance and SEND handovers support that transition; begin discussing suitable providers before Year 11 ends.

Orsett Heath Academy is best suited to families seeking a non-selective secondary with a clear sporting identity, practical and creative subjects, and detailed arrangements for learning support. Edukey plans, named pastoral routes and opportunities such as Learning through Sport give substance to those priorities. Student involvement in houses and leadership offers another reason to look closely.

The judgement needs balance. Good education, behaviour and personal development, together with Outstanding leadership and management, provide a positive inspection benchmark. Summer 2025 GCSE results add actual examination evidence, but the track record is still short. Admission is also competitive. Assess the fit for your child through the support they would receive, the activities they would use and the transition they would make after Year 11.