Woodlands School
Woodlands Approach, Basildon, SS16 5BA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- COMPASS EDUCATION TRUST LTD
- Headteacher
- Mr David Wright
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Billericay School
- Constituency
- South Basildon and East Thurrock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,513
- URN
- 141214
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268282146
About this school
Woodlands School is a secondary academy in Basildon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,513 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Woodlands School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 11 October 2023, 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 | 296 | 299 | 292 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.0 | 43.6 | 42.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.48 -0.64 to -0.31 | -0.26 -0.42 to -0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 41.8% | 32.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 60.2% | 54.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 58% | 61.9% | 71.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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 Woodlands 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 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.6 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.1 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 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 | 1,497 |
| 2023/24 | 1,494 |
| 2024/25 | 1,492 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Woodlands School compares
Woodlands School ranked 49th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.1 | 7.9% | 33% | 1,513 | — |
| De La Salle School | 41.8 | 7.9% | 32.4% | 761 | 1.1 miles |
| The James Hornsby School | 38.9 | 8.9% | 48.2% | 1,040 | 1.3 miles |
| The Basildon Lower Academy | — | 15.3% | 52.4% | 892 | 1.5 miles |
| The Basildon Upper Academy | 28.7 | 20.8% | 47.6% | 847 | 2.1 miles |
| Mossbourne Fobbing Academy | — | 8.1% | 21.8% | 859 | 2.2 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)
- 33.04%
- English as an additional language
- 15.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.94%
- Persistent absence
- 22.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
De La Salle School1.1 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
The James Hornsby School1.3 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
The Basildon Lower Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
The Basildon Upper Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Basildon
-
Mossbourne Fobbing Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Stanford-le-Hope
Other schools in Basildon
- De La Salle School Secondary
- The Basildon Lower Academy Secondary
- The Basildon Upper Academy Secondary
- The James Hornsby 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 Woodlands School teach?
- Woodlands School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Basildon.
- Who is the headteacher of Woodlands School?
- The headteacher of Woodlands School is Mr David Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Woodlands School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Woodlands 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 Woodlands School?
- Woodlands School has 1,513 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Woodlands School full?
- Woodlands School has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,513 on roll (101%), 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 Woodlands School a faith school?
- No. Woodlands School has no designated religious character.
- Is Woodlands School a selective school?
- No. Woodlands School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Woodlands School part of an academy trust?
- Woodlands School is part of COMPASS EDUCATION TRUST LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Woodlands School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41 in 2022/23 and 42.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Woodlands School compare with other schools in Essex?
- Woodlands School ranked 49th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Woodlands School's absence rate?
- Woodlands School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Woodlands School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Woodlands 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.