Schools around here

Lift Maltings

Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Essex

Spinks Lane, Witham, CM8 1EP

Website 01376512911

56

headline score

Ranking (England)

—

No ranked results

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Graded 19/09/2023

Application demand

100%

1st preference success · Not oversubscribed

Attendance

87.3%

32.8% persistently absent

Above averageAround averageBelow averagecompared with the England average for state-funded schools.

At a glance

Pupils on roll

787

Capacity used

Has space

72%

1,100 places

GCSE rank (England)

—

KS2 rank (England)

—

Application demand

Secondary entry · official council applications and offers

Not oversubscribed

100%

1st preference success rate

119 of 119 families who put it first got an offer

136

Places offered

260

Total applications

1.9

Applications per place

Preference (Sept 2025 entry)ApplicationsOffersSuccess
1st preference119119● 100%
2nd preference665● 8%
3rd preference321● 3%
Later preferences (4th–6th)430● 0%
Total26012548%

1st preference success by year

99%
2020
96%
2021
97%
2022
100%
2023
100%
2024
100%
2025

Essex lets families list 6 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.

Details

Type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Secondary
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions policy
Non-selective
Sixth form
No
Boarding
No boarders
Headteacher
Leanne Abbott-Jones
Address
Spinks Lane, Witham, CM8 1EP
Phone
01376512911
Local authority
Essex
Ward / constituency
Witham Central · Witham
Area
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
135653

Pupils

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Free school meals23%——
English as additional language5%——
SEN support8%——
49% boys (386)51% girls (401)

Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)

1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.

Academy trust: LIFT SCHOOLS

787 pupils · 1,100 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.

Ofsted inspections

  1. 26

    24 March 2026

    S5 Inspection · report card

    InclusionNeeds attention
    AchievementNeeds attention
    Safeguarding standardsMet
    Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
    Attendance and behaviourExpected standard
    Leadership and governanceExpected standard
    Early yearsNot applicable
    Personal development and wellbeingExpected standard
    Post-16 provisionNot applicable
  2. 23

    19 September 2023

    Full graded inspection

    Requires improvement overall effectiveness
    Personal developmentRequires improvement
    Quality of educationRequires improvement
    Safeguarding effectiveYes
    Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
    Leadership and managementRequires improvement
View all Ofsted reports

Attendance

2024/2025 school year · 883 pupils

Attendance

87.3%

Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%

Overall absence

12.8%

Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%

Persistent absence

32.8%

Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%

Severe absence

8.9%

Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%

Unauthorised absence

5.6%

Absences the school didn't approve

Persistent absence by year

15%
20/21
36%
21/22
30%
22/23
36%
23/24
33%
24/25

Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.

GCSE results

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Attainment 8 score39.0——
Progress 8 score-0.64—0.00
Grade 5+ in English & maths37%——
Grade 4+ in English & maths59%——
EBacc average point score3.35——

Progress 8 band

Well below
5% of schools
Below
26% of schools
Average
43% of schools
Above
21% of schools
Well above
5% of schools

GCSE results over time

43201947.5202243.3202339202439.92025

Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)

ResultSchoolEngland (approx.)
Attainment 839.946
Grade 5+ English & maths42.2%46%
Grade 4+ English & maths63.9%65%
Entering EBacc19.3%40%
EBacc average point score3.334.1
Pupils in cohort166—

How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)

Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.

Disadvantaged pupils
-1.32
Other pupils
-0.46
Low prior attainers
-0.66
Middle prior attainers
-0.65
High prior attainers
-0.59
Girls
-0.71
Boys
-0.57

A-level results over time

21.38201926.472022

Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)

ResultSchoolEngland (approx.)
Average points per entry26.4735
Average gradeC-—
A-level students12—

Results by subject

Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.

GCSE

Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.

SubjectEntriesGrade 7+Grade 5+Grade 4+
Mathematics16517%48%70%
English Language16511%44%59%
English Literature1646%46%63%
Combined Science1225%17%39%
Geography7211%44%58%
History717%37%45%
Business6912%43%59%
Social Studies4516%56%80%
Art and Design400%10%15%
Design & Technology3813%47%58%
Biology3514%74%91%
Physics3526%77%86%

House prices near the school

Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.

Loading prices…

Key application dates

National deadlines in England. Apply through Essex council, not the school.

EntryDeadlineOffer day
Year 7 (secondary)31 October1 March (or next working day)

Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.

Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.