Belfairs Academy
Highlands Boulevard, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 3TG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- LEGRA ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Beverley Williams
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Legra Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Southend West and Leigh
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,440
- Pupils on roll
- 1,558
- URN
- 138174
- Local authority
- Southend-on-Sea
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01702509000
About this school
Belfairs Academy is a secondary academy in Leigh-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,558 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 277 | 276 | 284 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.2 | 43.3 | 45.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.39 -0.56 to -0.22 | -0.31 -0.48 to -0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 40.6% | 44.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 66.3% | 64.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 56% | 41.3% | 46.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
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 Belfairs Academy 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 | 43.2 | 48.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.3 | 43.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.5 | 45.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,631 |
| 2023/24 | 1,632 |
| 2024/25 | 1,606 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Belfairs Academy compares
Belfairs Academy ranked 8th of 12 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.5 | 8.6% | 21.1% | 1,558 | — |
| Westcliff High School for Girls | 75.6 | 4.7% | 9.5% | 1,354 | 1.2 miles |
| Westcliff High School for Boys Academy | 77.6 | 3.8% | 7.5% | 1,309 | 1.2 miles |
| St Thomas More High School | 52.3 | 4.7% | 15.6% | 1,243 | 1.3 miles |
| The Eastwood Academy | 51.6 | 6.3% | 18.6% | 1,154 | 1.4 miles |
| The King John School | 49.6 | 5.9% | 16% | 2,098 | 2.0 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
- 14 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report18 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.08%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.6%
- Persistent absence
- 24.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Westcliff High School for Girls1.2 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
Westcliff High School for Boys Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
St Thomas More High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea
-
The Eastwood Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Leigh-on-Sea
-
The King John School2.0 miles
Secondary · Benfleet
Other schools in Leigh-on-Sea
- The Eastwood Academy Secondary
- 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 Belfairs Academy teach?
- Belfairs Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Leigh-on-Sea.
- Who is the principal of Belfairs Academy?
- The principal of Belfairs Academy is Mrs Beverley Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Belfairs Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Belfairs Academy, 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 Belfairs Academy?
- Belfairs Academy has 1,558 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Belfairs Academy full?
- Belfairs Academy has capacity for 1,440 pupils and 1,558 on roll (108%), 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 Belfairs Academy a faith school?
- No. Belfairs Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Belfairs Academy a selective school?
- No. Belfairs Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Belfairs Academy?
- Belfairs Academy is part of LEGRA ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Belfairs Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.2 in 2022/23 and 45.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Belfairs Academy rank locally?
- Belfairs Academy ranked 8th of 12 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Belfairs Academy's absence rate?
- Belfairs Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Belfairs Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Belfairs Academy'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.