Saffron Walden County High School
Audley End Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 4UH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Polly Lankester
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Saffron Academy Trust
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 2,050
- Pupils on roll
- 2,157
- URN
- 136776
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01799513030
About this school
Saffron Walden County High School is a secondary academy in Saffron Walden. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 2,157 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Saffron Walden County High School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 300 | 293 | 303 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.1 | 56.7 | 59.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.30 +0.13 to +0.46 | +0.28 +0.12 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 62.5% | 66.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 81.6% | 84.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71% | 75.4% | 55.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
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 Saffron Walden County 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55.1 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.7 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 59.7 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,147 |
| 2023/24 | 2,126 |
| 2024/25 | 2,119 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saffron Walden County High School compares
Saffron Walden County High School ranked 6th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 93% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59.7 | 7.2% | 11.6% | 2,157 | — |
| Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport | 44.9 | 9% | 13.2% | 865 | 2.2 miles |
| Linton Village College | 52.4 | 7.4% | 16.4% | 766 | 5.9 miles |
| Sawston Village College | 55.5 | 7.5% | 16.2% | 1,198 | 8.1 miles |
| Forest Hall School | 40.6 | 12.2% | 30.3% | 506 | 8.6 miles |
| Castle Manor Academy | 40.3 | 9.7% | 29.7% | 760 | 9.6 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)
- 11.58%
- English as an additional language
- 5.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.16%
- Persistent absence
- 17.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport2.2 miles
Secondary · Saffron Walden
-
Linton Village College5.9 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Sawston Village College8.1 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Forest Hall School8.6 miles
Secondary · Stansted Mountfitchet
-
Castle Manor Academy9.6 miles
Secondary · Haverhill
Other schools in Saffron Walden
- Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport Secondary
- Ashdon Primary School Primary
- Clavering Primary School Primary
- Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy Primary
- Great Chesterford Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Great Sampford Community Primary School Primary
- Katherine Semar Infant School Primary
- Katherine Semar Junior School Primary
- R A Butler Infant School Primary
- R A Butler Junior School Primary
- Radwinter Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Saffron Walden County High School teach?
- Saffron Walden County High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Saffron Walden.
- Who is the headteacher of Saffron Walden County High School?
- The headteacher of Saffron Walden County High School is Ms Polly Lankester, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Saffron Walden County High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saffron Walden County 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 many pupils are at Saffron Walden County High School?
- Saffron Walden County High School has 2,157 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Saffron Walden County High School full?
- Saffron Walden County High School has capacity for 2,050 pupils and 2,157 on roll (105%), 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 Saffron Walden County High School a faith school?
- No. Saffron Walden County High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Saffron Walden County High School a selective school?
- No. Saffron Walden County High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Saffron Walden County High School part of an academy trust?
- Saffron Walden County High School is part of SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Saffron Walden County High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.1 in 2022/23 and 59.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Saffron Walden County High School compare with other schools in Essex?
- Saffron Walden County High School ranked 6th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 93% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Saffron Walden County High School's absence rate?
- Saffron Walden County High School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saffron Walden County High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saffron Walden County 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 1 July 2026.