William Edwards School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Thurrock
Stifford Clays Road, Grays, RM16 3NJ
63
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Requires improvement
Graded 07/11/2023
Application demand
99%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.0%
24.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
984
Capacity used
Has space82%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
99%
1st preference success rate
92 of 93 families who put it first got an offer
201
Places offered
427
Total applications
2.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 93 | 92 | ● 99% |
| 2nd preference | 118 | 24 | ● 20% |
| 3rd preference | 88 | 8 | ● 9% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 128 | 8 | ● 6% |
| Total | 427 | 132 | 31% |
1st preference success by year
Thurrock lets families list 6 preferences. 2 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). 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 converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Lynne Sexton
- Address
- Stifford Clays Road, Stifford Clays, Grays, RM16 3NJ
- Phone
- 01375486000
- Local authority
- Thurrock
- Ward / constituency
- Stifford · Thurrock
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137214
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 22% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 8% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: SOUTH WEST ESSEX COMMUNITY EDUCATION TRUST LIMITED
984 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
10 March 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Expected standard Achievement Needs attention Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Attendance and behaviour Expected standard Leadership and governance Needs attention Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 23
07 November 2023
Full graded inspection
Requires improvement overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,150 pupils
Attendance
92.0%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.0%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
24.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.2%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
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
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 43.8 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.29 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 41% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 64% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.81 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 42.5 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 34.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 54.9% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 42.1% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.64 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 233 | — |
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.
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.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 232 | 15% | 44% | 66% | |
| English Language | 232 | 4% | 28% | 49% | |
| English Literature | 231 | 12% | 45% | 61% | |
| Combined Science | 218 | 10% | 28% | 42% | |
| Geography | 148 | 10% | 34% | 43% | |
| French | 98 | 9% | 35% | 45% | |
| History | 76 | 25% | 41% | 57% | |
| Art and Design | 71 | 20% | 69% | 92% | |
| Business | 63 | 19% | 51% | 75% | |
| Design & Technology | 41 | 15% | 59% | 80% | |
| Social Studies | 36 | 28% | 61% | 67% | |
| Physical Education | 34 | 26% | 44% | 62% |
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 Thurrock council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 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.