UK Schools
William de Ferrers School
William de Ferrers School is a mixed secondary academy in Chelmsford, Essex County Council, teaching 1,237 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted graded quality of education as Requires improvement at its most recent inspection in September 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 44.1 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 4 September 2025.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for William de Ferrers School.
From September 2024 Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. These are the graded judgement areas from the latest inspection.
Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for William de Ferrers School.
- 1 Inset Day
- 2 Inset Day
- 3 Start of Autumn Term for Years 7 & 12
- 4 Start of Autumn Term for Years 8, 9, 10, 11 & 13
- 24 Inset Day
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term
- 28 Inset Day (Disaggregated)
- 22–31 Christmas Holiday
- 25 Christmas Day Bank Holiday
- 26 Boxing Day Bank Holiday
- 1–2 Christmas Holiday
- 1 New Year's Day Bank Holiday
- 16–20 Spring Half Term
- 23 Inset Day
- 30–31 Easter Holiday
- 1–10 Easter Holiday
- 3 Good Friday
- 6 Easter Monday
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term (includes Spring Bank Holiday)
- 20 Inset Day (Disaggregated)
- 21–31 Summer Holiday
- 1–31 Summer Holiday
- 31 Summer Bank Holiday
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Inset Day Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
- Inset Day Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
- Start of Autumn Term for Years 7 & 12 Sep 3, 2025 Term
- Start of Autumn Term for Years 8, 9, 10, 11 & 13 Sep 4, 2025 Term
- Inset Day Oct 24, 2025 Inset Day
- Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- Inset Day (Disaggregated) Nov 28, 2025 Inset Day
- Christmas Holiday Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- Inset Day Feb 23, 2026 Inset Day
- Easter Holiday Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term (includes Spring Bank Holiday) May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- Inset Day (Disaggregated) Jul 20, 2026 Inset Day
- Summer Holiday Jul 21 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
- New Year's Day Bank Holiday Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
- Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
- Easter Monday Apr 6, 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
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare William de Ferrers School with Essex County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 44.1 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) 30.13 A level average point score
Results for students finishing post-16 study.
This school Essex County Council England
Attendance 24.5% 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 95% 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 William de Ferrers 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 William de Ferrers 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.