Alec Hunter Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,058 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.7
Academy converter
Shenfield High School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,528of 1,499 places
- Free school meals
- 19.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 233
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 24 April 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Shenfield High School (URN 115383, until 1 February 2012).
What the data says
Of the 242 pupils who finished Year 11 at Shenfield High School in 2023, 46% stayed on in Shenfield High School’s own sixth form (Essex average 37%), 31% went to a further education college and 8% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 211 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 42% went to university (Essex 35%, England 37%), and 8% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 28% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
Apprenticeships are a real route from here: 8% of leavers started one, roughly twice the England figure of 3%.
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 | Shenfield High School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 242 | 15,970 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 92% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 79% | 86% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 46% | 37% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 9% | 13% |
| — further education college | 31% | 38% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 8% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 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 | Shenfield High School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 211 | 13,240 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 87% | 81% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 42% | 35% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 8% | 15% | 19% |
| Further education | — | 4% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 11% | 8% | 7% |
| Employment | 34% | 33% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 9% | 14% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Shenfield High School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 45.3 | 45.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 14% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.67 | 3.97 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 14% | 22% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 32.0 | 31.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.5 | 48.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 2% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 233 | 100% | 88% | 14% | 22% | 68% |
| English Language | 233 | 100% | 89% | 13% | 20% | 66% |
| English Literature | 232 | 100% | 86% | 15% | 21% | 72% |
| Combined Science | 141 | 61% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 44% |
| History | 126 | 54% | 41% | 20% | 26% | 54% |
| Physics | 90 | 39% | 23% | 29% | 46% | 81% |
| Chemistry | 90 | 39% | 23% | 20% | 47% | 78% |
| Biology | 90 | 39% | 23% | 24% | 45% | 89% |
| Business Studies | 72 | 31% | 18% | 31% | 20% | 75% |
| Sociology | 65 | 28% | 4% | 37% | 21% | 77% |
| Physical Education | 62 | 27% | 11% | 35% | 24% | 74% |
| Geography | 61 | 26% | 41% | 11% | 25% | 52% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 58 | 25% | 8% | 0% | 21% | 59% |
| Fine Art | 49 | 21% | 9% | 33% | 28% | 96% |
| Film Studies | 40 | 17% | 1% | 15% | 20% | 63% |
| Spanish | 38 | 16% | 19% | 42% | 27% | 89% |
| Computer Science | 37 | 16% | 13% | 24% | 30% | 78% |
| Drama | 12 | 5% | 7% | 33% | 27% | 92% |
| French | 10 | 4% | 18% | 60% | 29% | 70% |
| Music | 8 | 3% | 5% | 25% | 33% | 88% |
| Dance | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 27% | — |
| Statistics | 1 | 0% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 70 | 60% | — |
| Small Business Management | 38 | 32% | — |
| Health Studies | 36 | 31% | — |
| Music Technology (Electronic) | 7 | 6% | — |
| Speech and Drama | 6 | 5% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Shenfield High School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 341 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 117 | 6,944 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 36.97 | 34.68 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 7% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Studies | 36 | 31% | 13% |
| Sociology | 30 | 26% | 13% |
| Media Studies | 30 | 26% | 4% |
| Economics | 23 | 20% | 13% |
| Mathematics | 22 | 19% | 31% |
| Psychology | 20 | 17% | 23% |
| Law | 19 | 16% | 4% |
| Physical Education | 18 | 15% | 3% |
| Biology | 18 | 15% | 20% |
| English Literature | 18 | 15% | 11% |
| Computer Science | 15 | 13% | 5% |
| History | 15 | 13% | 13% |
| Film Studies | 13 | 11% | 2% |
| Politics | 10 | 9% | 6% |
| Physics | 9 | 8% | 12% |
| Geography | 9 | 8% | 10% |
| Chemistry | 7 | 6% | 17% |
| English Language | 6 | 5% | 4% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Further Mathematics | — | — | 5% |
| Drama | — | — | 2% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
| Spanish | — | — | 2% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Studies | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | 19 | 16% | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | 14 | 12% | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 8 | 7% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | 7 | 6% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 7 | 6% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 6 | 5% | — |
Where Shenfield High School 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.