The Boswells School
Burnham Road, Chelmsford, CM1 6LY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE CHELMSFORD LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Stephen Mansell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Chelmsford Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Chelmsford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,431
- Pupils on roll
- 1,423
- URN
- 137874
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245264451
About this school
The Boswells School is a secondary academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,423 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 February 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 246 | 243 | 240 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.7 | 46.4 | 48.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.29 +0.11 to +0.47 | -0.16 -0.34 to +0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 47.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 66.7% | 70.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 30% | 37.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
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 The Boswells 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 | 48.7 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.4 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.4 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,491 |
| 2023/24 | 1,440 |
| 2024/25 | 1,409 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Boswells School compares
The Boswells School ranked 21st of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% 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 | 48.4 | 7.2% | 16.6% | 1,423 | — |
| Chelmsford County High School for Girls | 80.7 | 4.6% | 5.1% | 1,275 | 1.1 miles |
| St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford | 49.9 | 6.1% | 18.1% | 1,241 | 1.2 miles |
| King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford | 83.3 | 4.3% | 2.5% | 1,153 | 1.3 miles |
| Chelmer Valley High School | 45.3 | 7% | 20.4% | 1,200 | 1.8 miles |
| Moulsham High School | 58.3 | 4.6% | 13.9% | 1,662 | 2.3 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)
- 16.57%
- English as an additional language
- 10.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.16%
- Persistent absence
- 18.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chelmsford County High School for Girls1.1 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford1.2 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford1.3 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Chelmer Valley High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
-
Moulsham High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
The Boswells School ranks 7th 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 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 The Boswells School teach?
- The Boswells School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Boswells School?
- The headteacher of The Boswells School is Mr Stephen Mansell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Boswells School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Boswells 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 Boswells School?
- The Boswells School has 1,423 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Boswells School full?
- The Boswells School has capacity for 1,431 pupils and 1,423 on roll (99%), 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 Boswells School a faith school?
- No. The Boswells School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Boswells School a selective school?
- No. The Boswells School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Boswells School?
- The Boswells School is part of THE CHELMSFORD LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Boswells School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.7 in 2022/23 and 48.4 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 Boswells School rank locally?
- The Boswells School ranked 21st of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% 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 The Boswells School's absence rate?
- The Boswells School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Boswells School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Boswells 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.