Moulsham High School
Brian Close, Chelmsford, CM2 9ES
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BRIDGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Julia Mead
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Bridge Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Chelmsford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,613
- Pupils on roll
- 1,662
- URN
- 136863
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245260101
About this school
Moulsham High School is a secondary academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,662 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 263 | 253 | 259 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.0 | 56.4 | 58.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.49 +0.31 to +0.66 | +0.67 +0.49 to +0.85 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 62.8% | 66.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 82.2% | 84.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 65% | 53.4% | 55.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
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 Moulsham 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 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.4 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.3 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,623 |
| 2023/24 | 1,676 |
| 2024/25 | 1,670 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Moulsham High School compares
Moulsham High School ranked 7th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.3 | 4.6% | 13.9% | 1,662 | — |
| Great Baddow High School | 50 | 7.2% | 18.1% | 1,516 | 0.8 miles |
| Hylands School | 37.8 | 12.3% | 44.4% | 614 | 1.5 miles |
| King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford | 83.3 | 4.3% | 2.5% | 1,153 | 1.5 miles |
| Chelmsford County High School for Girls | 80.7 | 4.6% | 5.1% | 1,275 | 1.7 miles |
| The Sandon School | 46.6 | 9% | 16.8% | 1,218 | 2.0 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report23 October 2024
- 28 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.9%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.61%
- Persistent absence
- 8.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Great Baddow High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Hylands School1.5 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford1.5 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Chelmsford County High School for Girls1.7 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
The Sandon School2.0 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
Moulsham High School ranks 3rd of the 11 ranked secondary schools in Chelmsford.
- Chelmer Valley High School Secondary
- Chelmsford County High School for Girls Secondary
- Great Baddow High School Secondary
- Hylands School Secondary
- King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Secondary
- St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford Secondary
- The Boswells School Secondary
- The Sandon School Secondary
- William de Ferrers School Secondary
- Tanglewood Nursery School Nursery
- Woodcroft Nursery School Nursery
- Baddow Hall Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Moulsham High School teach?
- Moulsham High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of Moulsham High School?
- The headteacher of Moulsham High School is Miss Julia Mead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Moulsham High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Moulsham 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 Moulsham High School?
- Moulsham High School has 1,662 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Moulsham High School full?
- Moulsham High School has capacity for 1,613 pupils and 1,662 on roll (103%), 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 Moulsham High School a faith school?
- No. Moulsham High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Moulsham High School a selective school?
- No. Moulsham High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Moulsham High School?
- Moulsham High School is part of BRIDGE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Moulsham High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55 in 2022/23 and 58.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Moulsham High School rank locally?
- Moulsham High School ranked 7th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Moulsham High School's absence rate?
- Moulsham High School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Moulsham High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Moulsham 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.