Helena Romanes School is a mixed all-through academy in Great Dunmow, Essex County Council, teaching 1,265 pupils aged 4 to 18. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in October 2023. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 46.6 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 1 September 2025 to 20 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Helena Romanes School.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Early yearsGood
Sixth formGood
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 · Inspected 10 Oct 2023 · Published 16 Nov 2023
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Helena Romanes School.

Helena Romanes School term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Autumn Term begins
  • 3 First day for Year 7, new Year 12 and all Primary pupils
  • 4 All other year groups return (Years 8-11 & 13)
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 20–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 19 Autumn Term ends
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–2 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 5 Spring Term begins
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27 Spring Term ends
  • 30–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–10 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
  • 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
  • 13 Summer Term begins
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 20 Summer Term ends
  • 21–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Autumn Term begins Sep 1, 2025 Term
  • First day for Year 7, new Year 12 and all Primary pupils Sep 3, 2025 Event
  • All other year groups return (Years 8-11 & 13) Sep 4, 2025 Event
  • Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 20-31, 2025 Holiday
  • Autumn Term ends Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term begins Jan 5, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term ends Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term begins Apr 13, 2026 Term
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Half Term Holiday May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term ends Jul 20, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 21 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
46.6 Attainment 8 England 46.1 Top 37%
49.5% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4% Top 29%
24.99 A level average score England 35
29.4% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Helena Romanes School with Essex County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 46.6 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Essex County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 46.6
Essex County Council 45.1 England 46.1 in line with England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 49.5%
Essex County Council 43.1% England 45.4% +4.1 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 39.3
Essex County Council 31.1 England 34.9 +4.4 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 8.3
Essex County Council 17.8 England 15.5 -7.2 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 11.3%
Essex County Council 21.8% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 212
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 24.99 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school Essex County Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 24.99
Essex County Council 34.68 England 35 -10 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 76
Attendance 29.4% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Essex County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 29.4%
Essex County Council 17.7% England 17.8% +11.6 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 10.3%
Essex County Council 6.9% England 6.8% +3.6 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 90% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Essex County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 90%
Essex County Council 92% England 92% -2 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 83%
Essex County Council 81% England 83% in line with England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 82% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school Essex County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 82%
Essex County Council 81% England 79% +3 vs England
Went to higher education 35%
Essex County Council 35% England 37% -2 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Helena Romanes School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other primary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Helena Romanes School than to any other primary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.