The Sandon School
Molrams Lane, Sandon, Chelmsford, CM2 7AQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE SANDON SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Andrew Weaver
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Maldon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,253
- Pupils on roll
- 1,218
- URN
- 137240
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245473611
About this school
The Sandon School is a secondary academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,218 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 213 | 221 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 49.3 | 46.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.14 -0.33 to +0.06 | +0.15 -0.04 to +0.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 52.5% | 42.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 74.7% | 70.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 28.1% | 24.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
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 Sandon 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 | 44.8 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.3 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.6 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,280 |
| 2023/24 | 1,276 |
| 2024/25 | 1,231 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Sandon School compares
The Sandon School ranked 28th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.6 | 9% | 16.8% | 1,218 | — |
| Great Baddow High School | 50 | 7.2% | 18.1% | 1,516 | 1.3 miles |
| Moulsham High School | 58.3 | 4.6% | 13.9% | 1,662 | 2.0 miles |
| The Boswells School | 48.4 | 7.2% | 16.6% | 1,423 | 2.6 miles |
| King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford | 83.3 | 4.3% | 2.5% | 1,153 | 2.8 miles |
| Chelmsford County High School for Girls | 80.7 | 4.6% | 5.1% | 1,275 | 2.8 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)
- 16.76%
- English as an additional language
- 6.7%
- Overall absence
- 9%
- Persistent absence
- 23.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Great Baddow High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Moulsham High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
The Boswells School2.6 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford2.8 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Chelmsford County High School for Girls2.8 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
The Sandon School ranks 8th 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
- Moulsham High School Secondary
- St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford Secondary
- The Boswells 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 The Sandon School teach?
- The Sandon School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Sandon School?
- The headteacher of The Sandon School is Andrew Weaver, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Sandon School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Sandon 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 The Sandon School?
- The Sandon School has 1,218 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Sandon School full?
- The Sandon School has capacity for 1,253 pupils and 1,218 on roll (97%), 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 The Sandon School a faith school?
- No. The Sandon School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Sandon School a selective school?
- No. The Sandon School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Sandon School?
- The Sandon School is part of THE SANDON SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Sandon School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 46.6 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 Sandon School rank locally?
- The Sandon School ranked 28th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% 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 Sandon School's absence rate?
- The Sandon School's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Sandon School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Sandon 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.