SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Chelmsford, Essex

William de Ferrers School

Trinity Square, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 5JU

Sixth form
School website 01245326326

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 24 September 2024.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

44.1 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

39% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

69% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

3.6 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

10% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the lower half of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the bottom quarter.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.41confidence interval -0.59 to -0.22

Taking that range into account, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as below average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C
Average points per entry
30.1

England average 32.3

A level students
53

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1237
Places
2076
How full
60% full — 1237 of 2076 places taken, so places are likely to be available
Girls / boys
614 / 623
Overall absence
9%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
25%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
17%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
2%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
1%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
13%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
91%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
78%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
7%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
36%
No sustained destination
7%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
183

After sixth form

Went to university
42%

England 50%

In education, work or training
95%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
16%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
83

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

6% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
47%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
90

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Chelmsford 019C, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
23%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
18%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
64%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
6%

England 17%

Households with no car
16%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
33%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Trust
THE CHELMSFORD LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
Headteacher
Headteacher: James Donaldson
Local authority
Essex
Ward
South Woodham-Elmwood and Woodville
Constituency
Maldon
URN
136605

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Lift GreenswardAcademy sponsor led Good 2023 49.4 3.3 mi
The Sweyne Park SchoolAcademy converter No grade 44 3.6 mi
The FitzWimarc SchoolAcademy converter Good 2022 45.2 3.8 mi
Beauchamps High SchoolFoundation school No grade 48.1 4 mi
The King Edmund SchoolAcademy converter Good 2024 36.3 4.9 mi
The DeanesAcademy sponsor led Good 2023 34.4 5.4 mi
The Bromfords SchoolAcademy converter No grade 35.9 5.5 mi
The Eastwood AcademyAcademy converter No grade 51.6 6 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple SchoolVoluntary aided school No grade 54.2
St Edward's CollegeAcademy converter No grade 51.6
Studley High SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2024 45.9
Farlingaye High SchoolAcademy converter No grade 43.8
Mounts Bay AcademyAcademy converter No grade 43.7
Sir William Romney's SchoolAcademy converter No grade 44.1
Nunnery Wood High SchoolAcademy converter Good 2022 49.7
Stanborough SchoolAcademy converter Good 2023 47.9

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.