Dilkes Academy

About Dilkes Academy

Dilkes Academy is a school that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, it received 221 applications for just 60 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.68. Of those, 99 families put it as their first preference, and all 60 first-preference offers were taken up. That level of demand is a strong signal in itself. The school is led by headteacher Rhys Latham and serves 554 pupils in Thurrock, which is well above its official capacity of 420. It also offers nursery provision for children from age three. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in 2023, awarded it Outstanding across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. It has held an Outstanding rating since at least its previous inspection in 2012, so this is a consistently high-performing school.

Academically, Dilkes Academy performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 83% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Thurrock local authority average of 67%. That places the school 5th out of 39 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the top 13% locally and the top 8% nationally. A fifth of pupils achieved the higher standard in all three subjects. In individual subjects, 90% met the expected standard in maths and writing, and 85% in reading. Average scaled scores were 107 in both reading and maths. The school also has a relatively high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 16.7%, so these results are achieved across a diverse intake. The school does not have a sixth form, as it is a primary school, and it does not publish Progress 8 scores, but the attainment data alone is strong.

The school is well equipped, with facilities including a sports hall, art studios, an ICT suite, music rooms, playing fields, a library and a chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, gymnastics, netball, cross country, tennis and athletics, and there are clubs for drama, film, book club and choir. For families with children who have additional needs, Dilkes has a resourced provision and supports a wide range of needs, including specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. Given its oversubscription, families living closest to the school will need to check the admissions criteria carefully. This is a school for families who want strong academic outcomes in a well-resourced setting, and who are prepared for a competitive admissions process.

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