The Appleton School is a mixed secondary academy in Benfleet, Essex County Council, teaching 1,597 pupils aged 11 to 19. It was last inspected by Ofsted in November 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 39.6 (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 The Appleton School.

Latest inspection
Inspected Ungraded inspection
Outcome: Standards maintained. Ungraded (short) inspections confirm whether standards are maintained since the last full graded inspection — they don’t assign new category grades.
Ungraded inspection · Inspected 20 Nov 2024 · Published 12 Jan 2025
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Appleton School.

The Appleton 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
  • 1–30 Autumn Term
  • 1 Inset Day
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
  • 1–31 Autumn Term
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term
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
  • 1–30 Autumn Term
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
  • 1–19 Autumn Term
  • 22–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 26 Boxing Day
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
  • 5–31 Spring Term
  • 5 Inset Day
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
  • 1–28 Spring Term
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term
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
  • 1–27 Spring Term
  • 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
  • 6 Easter Monday
  • 13–30 Summer Term
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
  • 1–31 Summer Term
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term
  • 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
  • 1–30 Summer Term
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
  • 1–20 Summer Term
  • 20 Inset Day
  • 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 Sep 1, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Oct 27 - Oct 31, 2025 Holiday
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term Jan 5, 2026 - Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Feb 16 - Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 - Jul 20, 2026 Term
  • Summer Half Term May 25 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Holiday Jul 21 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Inset Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
  • Inset Day Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
  • Inset Day Jul 20, 2026 Inset Day
  • New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 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

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
39.6 Attainment 8 England 46.1
31.5% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
35.64 A level average score England 35 Top 38%
29% Persistent absence England 17.8%

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

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 39.6 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 39.6
Essex County Council 45.1 England 46.1 -6.5 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 31.5%
Essex County Council 43.1% England 45.4% -13.9 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 31.5
Essex County Council 31.1 England 34.9 -3.4 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 10
Essex County Council 17.8 England 15.5 -5.5 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 18.9%
Essex County Council 21.8% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 286
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 35.64 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* 35.64
Essex County Council 34.68 England 35 +0.6 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 65
Attendance 29% 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%
Essex County Council 17.7% England 17.8% +11.2 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 10.6%
Essex County Council 6.9% England 6.8% +3.8 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 94% 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 94%
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 89% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school Essex County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 89%
Essex County Council 81% England 79% +10 vs England
Went to higher education 37%
Essex County Council 35% England 37% in line with 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 The Appleton 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 secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Appleton School 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.