Earl Mortimer College

About Earl Mortimer College

Earl Mortimer College’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.57 places it significantly below the Herefordshire local authority average of -0.22 for secondary schools, and the school is ranked 12th out of 15 schools in the county on this measure. This puts it in the bottom 50% nationally, with a national percentile ranking of 86 — meaning roughly 86% of schools in England achieve a higher Progress 8 score. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 39.7 is also modest, and the proportion of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths (the basics 95 measure) is 43.5%, compared with 65.9% achieving a grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score of 3.39 and the low EBacc entry rate of 32.9% suggest that relatively few pupils take the full suite of EBacc subjects. While the school is oversubscribed — 97 applications for 76 places in 2025/26 — the data shows that academic outcomes are a clear area for improvement.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2023, Earl Mortimer College was rated Good overall, with Good in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is a consistent improvement from its previous inspection in 2017, which also rated the school Good overall but did not provide a breakdown for several categories. The Progress 8 banding is described as “well below average”, and the school’s performance in individual subjects shows particular weakness in the EBacc pillar subjects, with a Progress 8 score of -0.87 for EBacc subjects and -0.88 for open subjects. English and maths are also below average, at -0.51 and -0.32 respectively. The school has a relatively high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 28.7%, which is above the national average, and this may partly explain the lower attainment figures. The school does not have a sixth form, so pupils leave at 16.

Earl Mortimer College offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, art studios, and playing fields, and runs clubs such as Eco Club, Debate, and Orchestra. Sports on offer include football, netball, rugby, and martial arts. The school has a dedicated Sixth Form Centre, though it does not provide post-16 education itself. For pupils with special educational needs, the school supports a range of needs including Specific Learning Difficulty (Dyslexia), Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and Social, Emotional & Mental Health needs. The school is oversubscribed, with 74 first-preference applications for 76 places, and an oversubscription ratio of 1.28. This suggests it is a popular choice locally despite the academic data. Families considering this school should weigh its strong Ofsted rating and wide extracurricular offer against the below-average academic outcomes, particularly if they are prioritising GCSE results and Progress 8 performance.

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