Harris Academy Riverside
London Road, Purfleet, RM19 1QY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HARRIS FEDERATION
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Sofianos
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Harris Federation
- Constituency
- Thurrock
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,096
- Pupils on roll
- 1,111
- URN
- 144750
- Local authority
- Thurrock
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01375802060
About this school
Harris Academy Riverside is a secondary academy in Purfleet. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,111 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harris Academy Riverside, 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
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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Post-16 provision
- 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 | 130 | 184 | 170 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.3 | 49.6 | 47.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.06 -0.30 to +0.19 | +0.23 +0.02 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 51.1% | 45.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 71.2% | 67.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 86% | 56.5% | 67.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
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 Harris Academy Riverside has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Thurrock average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.3 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.6 | 42.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.9 | 43.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,016 |
| 2023/24 | 1,078 |
| 2024/25 | 1,117 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harris Academy Riverside compares
Harris Academy Riverside ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.9 | 5.7% | 30% | 1,111 | — |
| Leigh UTC Dartford | 44.4 | 7.3% | 33.6% | 691 | 1.5 miles |
| Ormiston Park Academy | 37.5 | 10.8% | 37.5% | 594 | 1.9 miles |
| Stone Lodge School | 37.6 | 10.1% | 31.7% | 1,139 | 2.3 miles |
| Harris Academy Chafford Hundred | 55.5 | 4.9% | 15.8% | 1,435 | 2.3 miles |
| Dartford Grammar School | 79.9 | 4.3% | 8.8% | 1,576 | 2.8 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report28 April 2026
- 22 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.01%
- English as an additional language
- 31.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.74%
- Persistent absence
- 13.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leigh UTC Dartford1.5 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Ormiston Park Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · South Ockendon
-
Stone Lodge School2.3 miles
Secondary · Dartford
-
Harris Academy Chafford Hundred2.3 miles
Secondary · Grays
-
Dartford Grammar School2.8 miles
Secondary · Dartford
Common questions
- What ages does Harris Academy Riverside teach?
- Harris Academy Riverside teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Purfleet.
- Who is the headteacher of Harris Academy Riverside?
- The headteacher of Harris Academy Riverside is Mrs Rachel Sofianos, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harris Academy Riverside been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harris Academy Riverside, 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 Harris Academy Riverside?
- Harris Academy Riverside has 1,111 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Harris Academy Riverside full?
- Harris Academy Riverside has capacity for 1,096 pupils and 1,111 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 Harris Academy Riverside a faith school?
- No. Harris Academy Riverside has no designated religious character.
- Is Harris Academy Riverside a selective school?
- No. Harris Academy Riverside is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Harris Academy Riverside part of an academy trust?
- Harris Academy Riverside is part of HARRIS FEDERATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Harris Academy Riverside's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.3 in 2022/23 and 47.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harris Academy Riverside compare with other schools in Thurrock?
- Harris Academy Riverside ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Thurrock for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harris Academy Riverside's absence rate?
- Harris Academy Riverside's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harris Academy Riverside's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harris Academy Riverside'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 15 July 2026.