Lift Hamford
Elm Tree Avenue, Walton on the Naze, CO14 8TE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LIFT SCHOOLS
- Principal
- Mr Tom Bottrill
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lift Schools
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Clacton
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 280
- Pupils on roll
- 393
- URN
- 138072
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01255673415
About this school
Lift Hamford is a primary academy in Walton on the Naze. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 393 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
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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 58 | 53 | 66 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 74% | 77% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 19% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 83% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 87% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 79% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 108.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Lift Hamford 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 | 74% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 378 |
| 2023/24 | 391 |
| 2024/25 | 380 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Lift Hamford compares
Lift Hamford ranked 285th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 6.2% | 33.7% | 393 | — |
| Frinton-on-Sea Primary School | 47% | 5.4% | 15.8% | 211 | 0.7 miles |
| Kirby Primary Academy | 63% | 5.3% | 24.9% | 207 | 1.1 miles |
| Walton on the Naze Primary School | 38% | 7.8% | 56.3% | 188 | 1.2 miles |
| Holland Haven Primary School | 55% | 4.9% | 25.3% | 420 | 3.6 miles |
| Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery | 27% | 5.8% | 16.6% | 231 | 3.7 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)
- 33.68%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.24%
- Persistent absence
- 18.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Frinton-on-Sea Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Frinton-on-Sea
-
Kirby Primary Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Frinton-on-Sea
-
Walton on the Naze Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Walton on the Naze
-
Holland Haven Primary School3.6 miles
Primary · Clacton-on-Sea
-
Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery3.7 miles
Primary · Clacton-on-Sea
Other schools in Walton on the Naze
Common questions
- What year groups does Lift Hamford teach?
- Lift Hamford teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Walton on the Naze.
- Who is the principal of Lift Hamford?
- The principal of Lift Hamford is Mr Tom Bottrill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Lift Hamford last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lift Hamford, 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 Lift Hamford?
- Lift Hamford has 393 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Lift Hamford full?
- Lift Hamford has capacity for 280 pupils and 393 on roll (140%), 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 Lift Hamford a faith school?
- No. Lift Hamford has no designated religious character.
- Is Lift Hamford a selective school?
- No. Lift Hamford is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Lift Hamford have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Lift Hamford as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Lift Hamford?
- Lift Hamford is part of LIFT SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Lift Hamford have?
- The schools register lists Lift Hamford's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Lift Hamford's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 74% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Lift Hamford rank locally?
- Lift Hamford ranked 285th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Lift Hamford's absence rate?
- Lift Hamford's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lift Hamford's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lift Hamford'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.