The Gateway Academy
Marshfoot Road, Grays, RM16 4LU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- GATEWAY LEARNING COMMUNITY
- Head of School
- Grainne McLaughlin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Gateway Learning Community
- Constituency
- Thurrock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,035
- Pupils on roll
- 1,030
- URN
- 133114
- Local authority
- Thurrock
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01375489000
About this school
The Gateway Academy is a secondary academy in Grays. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,030 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 December 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 197 | 233 | 197 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.2 | 44.6 | 46.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.23 +0.02 to +0.43 | +0.07 -0.12 to +0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 47.2% | 48.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 68.2% | 64.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 6% | 10.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
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 The Gateway Academy 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 | 44.2 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.6 | 42.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.1 | 43.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,074 |
| 2023/24 | 1,077 |
| 2024/25 | 1,033 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Gateway Academy compares
The Gateway Academy ranked 7th of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.1 | 7.5% | 42.3% | 1,030 | — |
| Orsett Heath Academy | 47 | 7.1% | 23.1% | 699 | 1.3 miles |
| Grays Convent High School | 55.7 | 5.5% | 21.3% | 655 | 1.5 miles |
| Thames Park Secondary School | 46.4 | 8.5% | 31.4% | 808 | 1.8 miles |
| The Hathaway Academy | 41.1 | 8.5% | 30.9% | 586 | 1.8 miles |
| William Edwards School | 42.5 | 8% | 21.7% | 984 | 2.3 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)
- 42.3%
- English as an additional language
- 23.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.46%
- Persistent absence
- 23.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Orsett Heath Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
Grays Convent High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
Thames Park Secondary School1.8 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
The Hathaway Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
William Edwards School2.3 miles
Secondary · Grays
Other schools in Grays
The Gateway Academy ranks 5th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Grays.
- Grays Convent High School Secondary
- Harris Academy Chafford Hundred Secondary
- Orsett Heath Academy Secondary
- Thames Park Secondary School 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 The Gateway Academy teach?
- The Gateway Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Grays.
- Who is the head of school of The Gateway Academy?
- The head of school of The Gateway Academy is Grainne McLaughlin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Gateway Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Gateway Academy, 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 The Gateway Academy?
- The Gateway Academy has 1,030 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Gateway Academy full?
- The Gateway Academy has capacity for 1,035 pupils and 1,030 on roll (100%), 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 The Gateway Academy a faith school?
- No. The Gateway Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Gateway Academy a selective school?
- No. The Gateway Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Gateway Academy?
- The Gateway Academy is part of GATEWAY LEARNING COMMUNITY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Gateway Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.2 in 2022/23 and 46.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Gateway Academy rank locally?
- The Gateway Academy ranked 7th of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Gateway Academy's absence rate?
- The Gateway Academy's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Gateway Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Gateway Academy'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.