Alec Hunter Academy
Stubbs Lane, Braintree, CM7 3NR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Trevor Lawn
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Saffron Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Braintree
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,142
- Pupils on roll
- 1,058
- URN
- 139402
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01376321813
About this school
Alec Hunter Academy is a secondary academy in Braintree. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,058 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 186 | 195 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.6 | 45.8 | 45.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.16 -0.37 to +0.05 | -0.10 -0.30 to +0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 44.6% | 48.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 70.3% | 67.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 38.5% | 51.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.1 | 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 Alec Hunter 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 | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.6 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.8 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.7 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,029 |
| 2023/24 | 1,058 |
| 2024/25 | 1,067 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Alec Hunter Academy compares
Alec Hunter Academy ranked 33rd of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.7 | 6.2% | 20.1% | 1,058 | — |
| Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form | 44.9 | 9.6% | 19.8% | 1,210 | 1.2 miles |
| Tabor Academy | 38.5 | 11.7% | 31.4% | 989 | 1.8 miles |
| Lift New Rickstones | 40.6 | 9.2% | 31.3% | 1,221 | 4.5 miles |
| Honywood School | 46.3 | 9.2% | 20.5% | 849 | 4.8 miles |
| Lift Maltings | 39.9 | 12.8% | 25.8% | 787 | 5.8 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)
- 20.06%
- English as an additional language
- 8.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.24%
- Persistent absence
- 15.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form1.2 miles
Secondary · Braintree
-
Tabor Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Braintree
-
Lift New Rickstones4.5 miles
Secondary · Witham
-
Honywood School4.8 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Lift Maltings5.8 miles
Secondary · Witham
Other schools in Braintree
- Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form Secondary
- Tabor Academy Secondary
- Beckers Green Primary School Primary
- Bocking Primary School Primary
- Cressing Primary School Primary
- Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Great Bardfield Primary School Primary
- Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Great Bradfords Junior School Primary
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery Primary
- John Ray Infant School Primary
- John Ray Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Alec Hunter Academy teach?
- Alec Hunter Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Braintree.
- Who is the headteacher of Alec Hunter Academy?
- The headteacher of Alec Hunter Academy is Mr Trevor Lawn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Alec Hunter Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Alec Hunter 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 Alec Hunter Academy?
- Alec Hunter Academy has 1,058 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Alec Hunter Academy full?
- Alec Hunter Academy has capacity for 1,142 pupils and 1,058 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 Alec Hunter Academy a faith school?
- No. Alec Hunter Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Alec Hunter Academy a selective school?
- No. Alec Hunter Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Alec Hunter Academy?
- Alec Hunter Academy is part of SAFFRON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Alec Hunter Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.6 in 2022/23 and 45.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Alec Hunter Academy rank locally?
- Alec Hunter Academy ranked 33rd of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary 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 Alec Hunter Academy's absence rate?
- Alec Hunter Academy's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Alec Hunter Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Alec Hunter 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.