Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow
Parnall Road, Harlow, CM18 7NQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE PASSMORES CO-OPERATIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY
- Headteacher
- Mr Stephen Drew
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Passmores Co-operative Learning Community
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 978
- URN
- 137552
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01279421951
About this school
Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is a secondary academy in Harlow. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 978 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
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 222 | 202 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.7 | 33.5 | 38.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.05 -1.24 to -0.86 | -1.01 -1.21 to -0.81 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21% | 19.8% | 31% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 39% | 38.6% | 52.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 49% | 52% | 52.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
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 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow 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 | 34.7 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 33.5 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.9 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,049 |
| 2023/24 | 999 |
| 2024/25 | 989 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow compares
Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow ranked 60th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.9 | 11.5% | 36.6% | 978 | — |
| Sir Frederick Gibberd College | 44 | 8.8% | 29% | 880 | 0.6 miles |
| St Mark's West Essex Catholic School | 46.3 | 6.7% | 22.1% | 1,099 | 1.0 miles |
| Bmat Stem Academy | 28.1 | 14.3% | 38.7% | 240 | 1.3 miles |
| Passmores Academy | 34.8 | 11.7% | 31.9% | 1,199 | 1.4 miles |
| Burnt Mill Academy | 45.2 | 8.6% | 31.3% | 959 | 1.9 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
- 8 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report23 November 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.6%
- English as an additional language
- 20.3%
- Overall absence
- 11.48%
- Persistent absence
- 33.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sir Frederick Gibberd College0.6 miles
Secondary · Harlow
-
St Mark's West Essex Catholic School1.0 miles
Secondary · Harlow
-
Bmat Stem Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Harlow
-
Passmores Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Harlow
-
Burnt Mill Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Harlow
Other schools in Harlow
Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Harlow.
- Bmat Stem Academy Secondary
- Burnt Mill Academy Secondary
- Mark Hall Academy Secondary
- Passmores Academy Secondary
- Sir Frederick Gibberd College Secondary
- St Mark's West Essex Catholic School Secondary
- Abbotsweld Primary Academy Primary
- Church Langley Community Primary School Primary
- Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow Primary
- Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Freshwaters Primary Academy Primary
- Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow teach?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Harlow.
- Who is the headteacher of Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow?
- The headteacher of Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is Mr Stephen Drew, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow, 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 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow has 978 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow full?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 978 on roll (93%), 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 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow a faith school?
- No. Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow has no designated religious character.
- Is Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow a selective school?
- No. Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is part of THE PASSMORES CO-OPERATIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.7 in 2022/23 and 38.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow rank locally?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow ranked 60th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's absence rate?
- Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's overall absence rate is 11.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow'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.