The James Hornsby School
Leinster Road, Basildon, SS15 5NX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ZENITH MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Tammy Nicholls
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Zenith Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Basildon and Billericay
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 1,040
- URN
- 138865
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268582400
About this school
The James Hornsby School is a secondary academy in Basildon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,040 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The James Hornsby 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 172 | 174 | 202 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.8 | 40.2 | 38.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.32 -0.53 to -0.11 | -0.32 -0.53 to -0.11 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 29.9% | 26.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 48.3% | 46% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 39% | 46.6% | 47% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 |
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 James Hornsby 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 | 41.8 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.2 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.9 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 970 |
| 2023/24 | 1,003 |
| 2024/25 | 1,037 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The James Hornsby School compares
The James Hornsby School ranked 62nd of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.9 | 8.9% | 48.2% | 1,040 | — |
| Woodlands School | 42.1 | 7.9% | 33% | 1,513 | 1.3 miles |
| De La Salle School | 41.8 | 7.9% | 32.4% | 761 | 1.6 miles |
| The Basildon Lower Academy | — | 15.3% | 52.4% | 892 | 2.5 miles |
| The Billericay School | 50 | 8.8% | 18.1% | 1,729 | 3.0 miles |
| Mossbourne Fobbing Academy | — | 8.1% | 21.8% | 859 | 3.1 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report3 February 2026
- 6 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 48.22%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.85%
- Persistent absence
- 23.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woodlands School1.3 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
De La Salle School1.6 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
The Basildon Lower Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
The Billericay School3.0 miles
Secondary · Billericay
-
Mossbourne Fobbing Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Stanford-le-Hope
Other schools in Basildon
- De La Salle School Secondary
- The Basildon Lower Academy Secondary
- The Basildon Upper Academy Secondary
- Woodlands School Secondary
- Bardfield Academy Primary
- Briscoe Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Chapel Hill Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Cherry Tree Primary School Primary
- Eversley Primary School Primary
- Fairhouse Community Primary School Primary
- Felmore Primary School Primary
- Ghyllgrove Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The James Hornsby School teach?
- The James Hornsby School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Basildon.
- Who is the headteacher of The James Hornsby School?
- The headteacher of The James Hornsby School is Mrs Tammy Nicholls, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The James Hornsby School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The James Hornsby 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 The James Hornsby School?
- The James Hornsby School has 1,040 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The James Hornsby School full?
- The James Hornsby School has capacity for 900 pupils and 1,040 on roll (116%), 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 James Hornsby School a faith school?
- No. The James Hornsby School has no designated religious character.
- Is The James Hornsby School a selective school?
- No. The James Hornsby School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The James Hornsby School part of an academy trust?
- The James Hornsby School is part of ZENITH MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The James Hornsby School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.8 in 2022/23 and 38.9 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 James Hornsby School compare with other schools in Essex?
- The James Hornsby School ranked 62nd of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% 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 James Hornsby School's absence rate?
- The James Hornsby School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The James Hornsby School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The James Hornsby 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.