Grays Convent High School
College Avenue, Grays, RM17 5UX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Penny Johnson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Constituency
- Thurrock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 620
- Pupils on roll
- 655
- URN
- 115239
- Local authority
- Thurrock
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01375376173
About this school
Grays Convent High School is a Roman Catholic girls' voluntary aided secondary school in Grays. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 655 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 124 | 150 | 137 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.0 | 55.3 | 55.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.63 +0.38 to +0.89 | +0.76 +0.52 to +1.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 56% | 61.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 76% | 82.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 80% | 87.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Grays Convent High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Thurrock average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.3 | 42.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.7 | 43.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 642 |
| 2023/24 | 682 |
| 2024/25 | 654 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Grays Convent High School compares
Grays Convent High School ranked 1st of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.7 | 5.5% | 21.3% | 655 | — |
| The Hathaway Academy | 41.1 | 8.5% | 30.9% | 586 | 0.5 miles |
| Thames Park Secondary School | 46.4 | 8.5% | 31.4% | 808 | 0.7 miles |
| Orsett Heath Academy | 47 | 7.1% | 23.1% | 699 | 1.2 miles |
| William Edwards School | 42.5 | 8% | 21.7% | 984 | 1.4 miles |
| The Gateway Academy | 46.1 | 7.5% | 42.3% | 1,030 | 1.5 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.25%
- English as an additional language
- 22.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.5%
- Persistent absence
- 13.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Hathaway Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
Thames Park Secondary School0.7 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
Orsett Heath Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
William Edwards School1.4 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
The Gateway Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Grays
Other schools in Grays
Grays Convent High School ranks 1st of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Grays.
- Harris Academy Chafford Hundred Secondary
- Orsett Heath Academy Secondary
- Thames Park Secondary School Secondary
- The Gateway Academy Secondary
- The Hathaway Academy Secondary
- William Edwards School Secondary
- Belmont Castle Academy Primary
- Chadwell St Mary Primary School Primary
- Deneholm Primary School Primary
- Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred Primary
- Herringham Primary Academy Primary
- Little Thurrock Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Grays Convent High School teach?
- Grays Convent High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Grays.
- Who is the headteacher of Grays Convent High School?
- The headteacher of Grays Convent High School is Mrs Penny Johnson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Grays Convent High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Grays Convent High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Grays Convent High School?
- Grays Convent High School has 655 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Grays Convent High School full?
- Grays Convent High School has capacity for 620 pupils and 655 on roll (106%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Grays Convent High School a faith school?
- Yes. Grays Convent High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Is Grays Convent High School a selective school?
- No. Grays Convent High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Grays Convent High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54 in 2022/23 and 55.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Grays Convent High School rank locally?
- Grays Convent High School ranked 1st of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Grays Convent High School's absence rate?
- Grays Convent High School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Grays Convent High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Grays Convent High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.