Manningtree High School
Colchester Road, Lawford, Manningtree, CO11 2BW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ALPHA TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Benjamin Briggs
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Alpha Trust
- Constituency
- Harwich and North Essex
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 886
- Pupils on roll
- 908
- URN
- 137945
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206392852
About this school
Manningtree High School is a secondary academy in Manningtree. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 908 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Manningtree High School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 169 | 171 | 182 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.4 | 49.2 | 48.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.15 -0.06 to +0.37 | +0.15 -0.07 to +0.36 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 51.5% | 52.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 73.7% | 73.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 40% | 39.8% | 42.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 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 Manningtree 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 | 49.4 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.2 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.6 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 893 |
| 2023/24 | 905 |
| 2024/25 | 917 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Manningtree High School compares
Manningtree High School ranked 20th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 | 48.6 | 9% | 14.4% | 908 | — |
| East Bergholt High School | 47.8 | 9.7% | 16.4% | 902 | 2.8 miles |
| Holbrook Academy | 41.2 | 8.4% | 23.6% | 584 | 5.5 miles |
| Colchester Academy | 38.5 | 13.9% | 44.1% | 879 | 5.9 miles |
| The Gilberd School | 53.4 | 7.1% | 16.3% | 1,588 | 6.1 miles |
| The Trinity School | — | 8.5% | 17.1% | 780 | 6.1 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)
- 14.39%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.04%
- Persistent absence
- 22.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
East Bergholt High School2.8 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Holbrook Academy5.5 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Colchester Academy5.9 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
The Gilberd School6.1 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
The Trinity School6.1 miles
Secondary · Colchester
Other schools in Manningtree
- Bradfield Primary School Primary
- Highfields Primary School Primary
- Lawford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Wix and Wrabness Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Manningtree High School teach?
- Manningtree High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manningtree.
- Who is the headteacher of Manningtree High School?
- The headteacher of Manningtree High School is Mr Benjamin Briggs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Manningtree High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Manningtree 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 many pupils are at Manningtree High School?
- Manningtree High School has 908 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Manningtree High School full?
- Manningtree High School has capacity for 886 pupils and 908 on roll (102%), 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 Manningtree High School a faith school?
- No. Manningtree High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Manningtree High School a selective school?
- No. Manningtree High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Manningtree High School part of an academy trust?
- Manningtree High School is part of ALPHA TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Manningtree High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.4 in 2022/23 and 48.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Manningtree High School compare with other schools in Essex?
- Manningtree High School ranked 20th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 Manningtree High School's absence rate?
- Manningtree High School's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Manningtree High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Manningtree 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.