UK Schools
St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford
St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford is a mixed local-authority maintained secondary school in Chelmsford, Essex County Council, teaching 1,241 pupils aged 11 to 18. Its last Ofsted inspection in June 2024 found the school remains Good. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 49.9 (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 St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford.
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford.
- 1 Start of Autumn Term
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term
- 19 End of Autumn Term
- 20–31 Christmas Holiday
- 25 Christmas Day
- 26 Boxing Day
- 1–4 Christmas Holiday
- 1 New Year's Day
- 5 Start of Spring Term
- 16–20 Spring Half Term
- 27 End of Spring Term
- 28–31 Easter Holiday
- 1–12 Easter Holiday
- 3 Good Friday
- 6 Easter Monday
- 13 Start of Summer Term
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term
- 25 Spring Bank Holiday
- 20 End of Summer Term
- 21–31 Summer Holiday
- 1–31 Summer Holiday
- 31 Summer Bank Holiday
- 1 Summer Holiday
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Start of Autumn Term Sep 1, 2025 Term
- Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- End of Autumn Term Dec 19, 2025 Term
- Christmas Holiday Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 Holiday
- Start of Spring Term Jan 5, 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- End of Spring Term Mar 27, 2026 Term
- Easter Holiday Mar 28 - Apr 12, 2026 Holiday
- Start of Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 Term
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- End of Summer Term Jul 20, 2026 Term
- Summer Holiday Jul 21 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
- New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
- Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
- Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
- Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford with Essex County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 49.9 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Essex County Council England
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 32.69 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Essex County Council England
Attendance 14.7% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Essex County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 97% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Essex County Council England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 88% In education, apprenticeship or work
Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.
This school Essex County Council 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 St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford. 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 only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to St John Payne Catholic School, Chelmsford than to any other secondary 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.