The St Christopher School
Mountdale Gardens, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 4AW
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SEN TRUST SOUTHEND
- Headteacher
- Mr Dan Woodman
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Southend West and Leigh
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 191
- Pupils on roll
- 270
- URN
- 138044
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702524193
About this school
The St Christopher School is a special academy in Leigh-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 270 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 23 | 27 | 22 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 4% | 5% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 4% | 4% | 9% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 93.0 | 88.0 | 92.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 88.0 | 93.0 | 96.0 |
| Reading progress | -7.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 11 | 7 | 6 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.5 | 4.9 | 4.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.35 -2.28 to -0.43 | -1.11 -2.16 to -0.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
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 The St Christopher 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 | Southend-on-Sea average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 57.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Southend-on-Sea average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.5 | 48.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 4.9 | 43.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 4.2 | 45.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 241 |
| 2023/24 | 257 |
| 2024/25 | 262 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 23 April 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report14 September 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 43.82%
- English as an additional language
- 8.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.94%
- Persistent absence
- 19.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingsdown School0.5 miles
Academies · Southend-on-Sea
-
Estuary High School0.8 miles
Special schools · Leigh-on-Sea
-
Saint Pierre School1.1 miles
Independent schools · Leigh-on-Sea
-
St. Michael's School1.2 miles
Independent schools
-
Lancaster School1.2 miles
Academies · Westcliff-on-Sea
Other schools in Leigh-on-Sea
- Estuary High School Special schools
- Blenheim Primary School Primary
- Chalkwell Hall Infant School Primary
- Chalkwell Hall Junior School Primary
- Darlinghurst Academy Primary
- Eastwood Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Edwards Hall Primary School Primary
- Fairways Primary School Primary
- Heycroft Primary School Primary
- Leigh North Street Primary School Primary
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Primary
- West Leigh Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The St Christopher School teach?
- The St Christopher School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Leigh-on-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of The St Christopher School?
- The headteacher of The St Christopher School is Mr Dan Woodman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The St Christopher School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The St Christopher 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 St Christopher School?
- The St Christopher School has 270 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is The St Christopher School full?
- The St Christopher School has capacity for 191 pupils and 270 on roll (141%), 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 The St Christopher School a faith school?
- No. The St Christopher School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs The St Christopher School?
- The St Christopher School is part of SEN TRUST SOUTHEND. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The St Christopher School have?
- The schools register lists The St Christopher School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The St Christopher School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is The St Christopher School's absence rate?
- The St Christopher School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The St Christopher School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The St Christopher 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.