The Ramsey Academy, Halstead

About The Ramsey Academy, Halstead

The Ramsey Academy, Halstead, is a mixed 11-16 state secondary in Braintree, Essex, that is running very close to its capacity of 750 pupils with 744 on roll. The school serves a community with a notably high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, at 24.1%, which is significantly above the national average for secondary schools. Demand for places is strong: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 203 applications for 111 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.83 applicants per place. Of those, 101 were first-preference applications, and all 101 first-preference applicants were offered a place. This suggests that while the school is popular locally, families who put it as their top choice have a very strong chance of securing a spot. The headteacher is Julia Mead, and the school has no religious character.

Academically, the school's Progress 8 score sits at -0.05, which is classed as 'Average' and is notably better than the Essex local authority average of -0.18. This means pupils at Ramsey make progress broadly in line with the national average, and slightly ahead of the typical pupil in the county. The Attainment 8 score is 44.3, and 61.2% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, with 42.8% achieving a grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.91, and 28.9% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2024, the school was rated Good overall, with Good marks for quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management. However, behaviour and attitudes were judged as Requires Improvement, a downgrade from the previous Good rating in 2015.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a swimming pool, sports hall, science labs, and music rooms, plus a sixth form centre despite not having a sixth form itself. Sports provision is broad, with swimming, rugby, tennis, and martial arts among the options, and clubs include coding, debate, Model UN, and orchestra. For SEND, the school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, based on 166 respondents, show 53% would recommend the school. The most positive feedback was on the range of subjects and clubs, with 76% agreeing there is a good range of subjects and 80% agreeing their child can take part in clubs. However, only 41% of parents agreed that SEND children get the support they need, and just 48% agreed that the school makes sure pupils are well behaved. This school will suit families who value a broad curriculum and extracurricular offer, but who are mindful of the behaviour concerns flagged by both Ofsted and parents.

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