UK Schools
The Sandon School
The Sandon School is a mixed secondary academy in Chelmsford, Essex County Council, teaching 1,218 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Requires improvement at its last graded inspection in March 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 46.6 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Sandon School.
Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Sandon School.
- 25 Summer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
- 1 Non-Pupil Day
- 2 Non-Pupil Day
- 3 Autumn Term begins (Year 7 + Sixth Form enrolment)
- 4 Remaining years return
- 2 Open Evening (early finish)
- 3 Non-Pupil Day
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term
- 28 Non-Pupil Day
- 19 Last day of Autumn Term (early finish)
- 22–31 Christmas Holiday (two weeks)
- 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
- 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
- 1–2 Christmas Holiday (two weeks)
- 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
- 5 Spring Term begins
- 16–20 Spring Half Term
- 27 Last day of Spring Term (early finish)
- 30–31 Easter Holiday (two weeks)
- 1–10 Easter Holiday (two weeks)
- 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
- 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
- 13 Summer Term begins
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term
- 25 Spring Bank Holiday
- 17 Last day of Summer Term (early finish)
- 20–31 Summer Holiday (about six weeks)
- 1–31 Summer Holiday (about six weeks)
- 31 Summer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday)
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Summer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday) Aug 25, 2025 Holiday
- Non-Pupil Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
- Non-Pupil Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
- Autumn Term begins (Year 7 + Sixth Form enrolment) Sep 3, 2025 Term
- Remaining years return Sep 4, 2025 Event
- Open Evening (early finish) Oct 2, 2025 Event
- Non-Pupil Day Oct 3, 2025 Inset Day
- Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- Non-Pupil Day Nov 28, 2025 Inset Day
- Last day of Autumn Term (early finish) Dec 19, 2025 Term
- Christmas Holiday (two weeks) Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
- Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday
- New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term begins Jan 5, 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- Last day of Spring Term (early finish) Mar 27, 2026 Term
- Easter Holiday (two weeks) Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
- Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term begins Apr 13, 2026 Term
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
- Last day of Summer Term (early finish) Jul 17, 2026 Term
- Summer Holiday (about six weeks) Jul 20 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Bank Holiday (Bank Holiday) Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Sandon 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
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 30.54 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Essex County Council England
Attendance 23.7% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Essex County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 91% 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 94% 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 The Sandon 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 only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Sandon 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.