Essex
The Sandon School
GCSE results 2026: every Essex school ranked · how England did
Close to home and non-selective, but attainment sits below the national average and the last inspection asked for improvement.
What the data says
Published data, read plainly. It tells you what to check next; it does not guarantee a place or replace your local authority’s admissions guidance.
Attainment 8 of 45.5 is close to the national average of around 46.
- 45.5
- Attainment 8
- 38%
- 5+ Eng & Maths
- 2025/2026
- Academic year
Progress is close to average or statistically uncertain because the confidence interval crosses zero. This does not necessarily mean the school adds or detracts from pupil progress.
- +0.15
- Progress 8
- [-0.04, 0.34]
- Confidence interval
Admissions realism depends on your home postcode and the school's published allocation data. Enter your postcode on this page to get a more specific assessment, and always verify the latest policy on the school's official admissions page.
What to do next
- Verify the school's official admissions policy
- Book an open day or school visit
- Add this school to your shortlist and compare with backup options
Starting school in September 2027
- Secondary (Year 7): apply by 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
National dates for England. You apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council.
Admissions and catchment
Year 7 entry · Essex council allocation figures, 2023–2026
Add a postcode to see where you would sit against past cut-offs.
Last distance offered in 2025: 16.1 km (10.0 miles), the furthest a child offered a place lived from the school. Add your postcode to see where you would sit.
Why we say “Add your postcode”
- Essex did not publish a usable cut-off for 2026, so this uses 2025.
- In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 16.1 km (10.0 miles) from the school: the last distance offered. Essex printed 10.027 miles (national offer day).
What could change this
- We measure a straight line from your postcode centre. The council measures from your home address, sometimes along walking routes, so treat anything near the line with care.
- Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants and siblings.
- Children with an EHC plan, looked-after children and siblings are usually offered places before distance is used.
- Past allocations never guarantee a place.
Rings are straight-line distance from the school, not a catchment boundary. Councils measure from your home address, sometimes along walking routes, and the distance changes every year.
Last distance offered
Furthest child offered a place.
Pupils on roll
School census count against building capacity
97% full. Source: Get Information about Schools, 26 September 2026. A full school can still have places in the entry year.
Sources — check them yourself
- 2026 (national offer day): Essex council allocation figures (spreadsheet)
- 2025 (national offer day): Essex council allocation figures (spreadsheet)
- 2024 (national offer day): Essex council allocation figures (spreadsheet)
- 2023 (national offer day): Essex council allocation figures (spreadsheet)
- Official admissions page: Essex. Use its address checker or booklet to confirm your own position.
Figures collected from council publications on 27 September 2026 and shown as printed, converted to km. Years the council did not publish are left blank. Past allocations never guarantee a place.
Applications and offers
National offer day figures that councils report to the Department for Education. These are counts only: they do not show how far away the last child offered a place lived.
Year 7 entry
| Year of entry | Places offered | Put it first | First choices offered | Applications (any preference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 213 | 164 | 164 (100%) | 708 |
| September 2025 | 211 | 158 | 158 (100%) | 705 |
| September 2024 | 212 | 179 | 160 (89%) | 835 |
| September 2023 | 212 | 202 | 182 (90%) | 837 |
| September 2022 | 216 | 188 | 170 (90%) | 785 |
Source: Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers, Academic year 2026/27, school-level data, published 18 June 2026. “–” means the figure was not published. The council’s own allocation figures are the official record: check Essex’s admissions page for cut-off distances, the admission rules and this year’s dates.
Performance over time
Attainment 8 over time
Progress 8 over time(not available 2024/25 or 2025/26)
University destinations
Share of this school's sixth-form leavers who went on to Oxford or Cambridge, a Russell Group university, or a university in the top third by entry grades. Department for Education data for state-funded schools and colleges.
| Left sixth form | Students | Oxford or Cambridge | Russell Group | Top-third universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 2024-2025 tables | 113 | Not published | Not published | 14% England 19% |
| 2020/21 2023-2024 tables | 73 | Not published | Not published | 26% England 24% |
| 2019/20 2022-2023 tables | 71 | 1% England 1% | 17% England 18% | 17% England 20% |
| 2018/19 2021-2022 tables | 80 | 0% England 1% | 10% England 15% | 14% England 17% |
| 2017/18 2020-2021 tables | 99 | 0% England 1% | 18% England 16% | 20% England 18% |
| 2015/16 2018-2019 tables | 89 | 0% England 1% | 9% England 14% | 16% England 19% |
- The DfE stopped publishing Oxbridge and Russell Group shares for individual schools after the 2022-23 performance tables (students who left in 2019/20). Top-third figures continue.
- Figures are percentages of all students who finished 16 to 18 study at the school, counting those who sustained a university place in the two years after leaving.
- Rankings use the average across years weighted by the number of students; a school needs at least 2 years and 50 students to be ranked. The top-third ranking uses the latest 3 years. Ranks are among state-funded schools and colleges.
- '<0.5%' means above zero but under half a percent. 'Suppressed' means 5 or fewer students.
- Source: Department for Education, 16 to 18 progression to higher education or training (Compare school and college performance, Explore education statistics).
Historical results
| Year | Pupils | Att8 | P8 | 5+ E&M | 7+ E&M | EBacc % | EBacc APS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/2026 (provisional) | 204 | 45.5 | — | 37.7% | 5.9% | — | — |
| 2024/2025 | 208 | 46.6 | — | 42.3% | — | 24.5% | 3.9 |
| 2023/2024 | 221 | 49.3 | +0.15 | 52.5% | — | 28.1% | 4.2 |
| 2022/2023 | 213 | 44.8 | -0.14 | 39.0% | — | 31.0% | 3.8 |
| 2021/2022 | 215 | 50.7 | -0.08 | — | — | 40.0% | 4.5 |
EBacc figures stop at 2024/2025: the DfE no longer publishes them from 2025/2026.
Nearby and similar schools
Other secondary schools in Essex for local comparison.
School information
| URN | 137240 |
| Local authority | Essex |
| Region | East of England |
| Phase | Secondary |
| Type | Academy converter |
| Gender of entry | Mixed |
| Age range | 11-18 |
| Headteacher | Headteacher Andrew Weaver |
| Trust | THE SANDON SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST |
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | None |
| Postcode | CM2 7AQ |
| Pupils | 1,231 |
| FSM eligible | 15.5% |
Contact and identifiers
Molrams Lane, Sandon, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7AQ
http://www.sandon.essex.sch.uk/1245473611| DfE number | 5463 |
| UKPRN | 10034752 |
| Opened | 1 Aug 2011 |
| GIAS updated | 11 Feb 2026 |
Data sources and freshness
| Official record updated | 11 Feb 2026 |
| Latest KS4 year | 2025/2026 |
| Latest KS2 year | — |
| Ofsted published | 12 Jun 2024 |
Latest Ofsted inspection
| Quality of education | Requires improvement |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Requires improvement |
| Safeguarding | Effective |
| Inspection type | S5 Inspection |
| Category of concern | — |
| Inspection date | 19 Mar 2024 |
| Publication date | 12 Jun 2024 |