Hylands School
Chelmsford Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3ET
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher White
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Kemnal Academies Trust
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,100
- Pupils on roll
- 614
- URN
- 137072
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245266766
About this school
Hylands School is a secondary academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 614 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Urgent improvement
- Curriculum and teaching
- Urgent improvement
- Achievement
- Urgent improvement
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Urgent improvement
- Safeguarding
- Met
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 115 | 99 | 90 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.0 | 32.6 | 37.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.89 -1.17 to -0.61 | -0.86 -1.15 to -0.57 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 25% | 25.3% | 37.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 40.4% | 54.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 10.1% | 3.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.2 |
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 Hylands 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 | 35 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32.6 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.8 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 698 |
| 2023/24 | 651 |
| 2024/25 | 640 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hylands School compares
Hylands School ranked 66th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.8 | 12.3% | 44.4% | 614 | — |
| King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford | 83.3 | 4.3% | 2.5% | 1,153 | 1.3 miles |
| Moulsham High School | 58.3 | 4.6% | 13.9% | 1,662 | 1.5 miles |
| Chelmsford County High School for Girls | 80.7 | 4.6% | 5.1% | 1,275 | 1.5 miles |
| St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford | 49.9 | 6.1% | 18.1% | 1,241 | 1.9 miles |
| Great Baddow High School | 50 | 7.2% | 18.1% | 1,516 | 2.2 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
-
Graded inspection report10 February 2026
- 7 June 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.39%
- English as an additional language
- 20.2%
- Overall absence
- 12.34%
- Persistent absence
- 34.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford1.3 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Moulsham High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Chelmsford County High School for Girls1.5 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford1.9 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Great Baddow High School2.2 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
Hylands School ranks 11th 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
- King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford Secondary
- Moulsham High School 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 Hylands School teach?
- Hylands School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of Hylands School?
- The headteacher of Hylands School is Mr Christopher White, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hylands School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hylands 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 Hylands School?
- Hylands School has 614 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Hylands School full?
- Hylands School has capacity for 1,100 pupils and 614 on roll (56%), so it has space against 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 Hylands School a faith school?
- No. Hylands School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hylands School a selective school?
- No. Hylands School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Hylands School?
- Hylands School is part of THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hylands School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35 in 2022/23 and 37.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hylands School rank locally?
- Hylands School ranked 66th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hylands School's absence rate?
- Hylands School's overall absence rate is 12.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hylands School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hylands 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 15 July 2026.