Alec Hunter Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,058 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.7
Academy converter
Harris Academy Benfleet
- Pupils on roll
- 1,597of 1,500 places
- Free school meals
- 18.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 286
- Ofsted
- Standards maintained, 20 November 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Appleton School (URN 115334, until 1 April 2011).
What the data says
Of the 264 pupils who finished Year 11 at Harris Academy Benfleet in 2023, 31% stayed on in Harris Academy Benfleet’s own sixth form (Essex average 37%), 55% went to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 39.6 against 46.1 across England and 45.1 in Essex, with 32% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 26% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.
Among the 75 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 37% went to university (Essex 35%, England 37%), and 15% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Essex and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Harris Academy Benfleet | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 264 | 15,970 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 94% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 87% | 86% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 31% | 37% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | — | 9% | 13% |
| — further education college | 55% | 38% | 37% |
| — other education | — | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Harris Academy Benfleet | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 75 | 13,240 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 89% | 81% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 37% | 35% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 15% | 15% | 19% |
| Further education | 0% | 4% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 8% | 7% |
| Employment | 44% | 33% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 14% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Harris Academy Benfleet | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 39.6 | 45.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 39% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.45 | 3.97 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 19% | 22% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 31.5 | 31.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 41.5 | 48.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 8% | 9% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 284 | 99% | 89% | 7% | 20% | 64% |
| Mathematics | 284 | 99% | 88% | 14% | 22% | 67% |
| English Literature | 271 | 95% | 86% | 7% | 21% | 65% |
| Combined Science | 230 | 80% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 43% |
| History | 125 | 44% | 41% | 15% | 26% | 51% |
| Geography | 108 | 38% | 41% | 6% | 25% | 42% |
| Business Studies | 96 | 34% | 18% | 10% | 20% | 67% |
| Fine Art | 75 | 26% | 9% | 20% | 28% | 75% |
| French | 59 | 21% | 18% | 10% | 29% | 66% |
| German | 51 | 18% | 5% | 6% | 33% | 73% |
| Biology | 44 | 15% | 23% | 9% | 45% | 66% |
| Physics | 43 | 15% | 23% | 12% | 46% | 70% |
| Chemistry | 43 | 15% | 23% | 12% | 47% | 65% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 42 | 15% | 8% | 10% | 21% | 64% |
| 3D Design | 39 | 14% | 2% | 3% | 16% | 46% |
| Statistics | 31 | 11% | 5% | 19% | 20% | 94% |
| Ancient History | 24 | 8% | 0% | 0% | 37% | 25% |
| Physical Education | 22 | 8% | 11% | 18% | 24% | 82% |
| Computer Science | 17 | 6% | 13% | 24% | 30% | 82% |
| Religious Studies | 16 | 6% | 31% | 19% | 32% | 63% |
| Music | 15 | 5% | 5% | 7% | 33% | 53% |
| Drama | 8 | 3% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 38% |
| Astronomy | 8 | 3% | 0% | 0% | 29% | 38% |
| Arabic | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Economics | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 34% | — |
| Spanish | 1 | 0% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Psychology | 1 | 0% | 3% | — | 22% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | 60 | 92% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 56 | 86% | — |
| Sports Studies | 38 | 58% | — |
| Speech and Drama | 15 | 23% | — |
| Dance: General | 8 | 12% | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 1 | 2% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Harris Academy Benfleet | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 166 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 65 | 6,944 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 35.64 | 34.68 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 26 | 40% | 23% |
| Mathematics | 24 | 37% | 31% |
| History | 21 | 32% | 13% |
| Biology | 16 | 25% | 20% |
| Business Studies | 16 | 25% | 13% |
| Chemistry | 14 | 22% | 17% |
| Sociology | 11 | 17% | 13% |
| Physics | 9 | 14% | 12% |
| Economics | 8 | 12% | 13% |
| Further Mathematics | 7 | 11% | 5% |
| English Language | 7 | 11% | 4% |
| Law | — | — | 4% |
| Religious Studies | — | — | 4% |
| Computer Science | — | — | 5% |
| English Literature | — | — | 11% |
| Geography | — | — | 10% |
| Politics | — | — | 6% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | 13 | 20% | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 11 | 17% | — |
| Social Science | VRQ Level 3 | 9 | 14% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 7 | 11% | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Foundation Diploma L3 - Band H - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Physics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Physics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Mathematical Studies | Core Maths Qualifications at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | BTEC National Foundation Diploma L3 - Band H - P-D* | — | — | — |
Where Harris Academy Benfleet is
Other secondary schools in Essex are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Essex’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Essex
Anglo European School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,533 pupils
96% stayed in education · Attainment 8 55.6
Beauchamps High School
Foundation school · sixth form · 1,486 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.1
Becket Keys Church of England Free School
Free schools · sixth form · 1,152 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 56.0
Bmat Stem Academy
University technical college · sixth form · 240 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 28.1
Brentwood County High School
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,097 pupils
78% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.2
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.