Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College
Abbs Cross Lane, Hornchurch, RM12 4YB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LOXFORD SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Jethwa
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Loxford School Trust Ltd
- Constituency
- Hornchurch and Upminster
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 888
- Pupils on roll
- 882
- URN
- 136663
- Local authority
- Havering
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01708440304
About this school
Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College is a secondary academy in Hornchurch. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 882 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 14 December 2022, 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 | 165 | 172 | 175 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.4 | 45.3 | 45.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.04 -0.18 to +0.26 | -0.24 -0.45 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 39.5% | 45.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 61% | 69.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 87% | 62.2% | 60.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
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 Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Havering average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.4 | 43.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.3 | 43.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.5 | 43.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 878 |
| 2023/24 | 889 |
| 2024/25 | 887 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College compares
Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Havering for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.5 | 8.2% | 26.9% | 882 | — |
| Sanders Draper | 44.4 | 5.6% | 26.1% | 732 | 0.4 miles |
| Hornchurch High School | 54 | 7.3% | 32.4% | 661 | 0.5 miles |
| The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls | 51.4 | 6.2% | 22.8% | 1,381 | 1.4 miles |
| The Brittons Academy | 39.5 | 7.6% | 39.7% | 730 | 1.5 miles |
| Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' School | 62.2 | 5% | 12.9% | 848 | 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)
- 26.94%
- English as an additional language
- 20.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.15%
- Persistent absence
- 20.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sanders Draper0.4 miles
Secondary · Hornchurch
-
Hornchurch High School0.5 miles
Secondary · Hornchurch
-
The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls1.4 miles
Secondary · Romford
-
The Brittons Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Rainham
-
Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' School1.5 miles
Secondary · Upminster
Other schools in Hornchurch
Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Hornchurch.
- Emerson Park Academy Secondary
- Hornchurch High School Secondary
- Sanders Draper Secondary
- The Campion School Secondary
- Ardleigh Green Infant School Primary
- Ardleigh Green Junior School Primary
- Benhurst Primary School Primary
- Elm Park Primary School Primary
- Hacton Primary School Primary
- Harrow Lodge Primary School Primary
- Langtons Infant School & Nursery Primary
- Langtons Junior Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College teach?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hornchurch.
- Who is the headteacher of Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College?
- The headteacher of Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College is Mrs Nicola Jethwa, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College, 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 Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College has 882 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College full?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College has capacity for 888 pupils and 882 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College a faith school?
- No. Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College has no designated religious character.
- Is Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College a selective school?
- No. Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College is part of LOXFORD SCHOOL TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.4 in 2022/23 and 45.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College rank locally?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Havering for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College's absence rate?
- Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College'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 1 July 2026.