Helena Romanes School

Uttlesford · CM6 2AU

General information All-through School · 4-18 years Who goes here 1265 pupils, 18.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.5% on SEN support Behaviour 10.3% absence rate Staff 20.9% turnover Financials £6,969 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Helena Romanes School

General Information

Address: Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, CM6 2AU – View on map
Phone: 01371872560
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Catherine Davis
Age range: 4-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 142 families put it first for 199 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 8 · 2026 7
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 13 families put it first for 17 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 8 · 2025 7 · 2026 8
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1265 pupils out of 1593 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 206
% eligible for free school meals: 18.1%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Uttlesford average)
English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 20.9% a year (Uttlesford 14.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 55% moved to another school, 45% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Essex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 227 (2.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 216 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 112 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Essex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 10.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 29.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 8.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 32 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 27 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 46.6
Compared with the area: 4.1 points below the Uttlesford average (50.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−2.1 points against an expected 48.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 70% (Uttlesford 74%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolUttlesford averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 4.1 points below the Uttlesford average (50.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

2nd of 4 all-through schools in Uttlesford for Attainment 8

#1Saffron Walden County High School59.7
#2Helena Romanes School46.6
#3Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport44.9
#4Forest Hall School40.6

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Saffron Walden County High School59.7
#2Helena Romanes School46.6
#3Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport44.9
#4Forest Hall School40.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 80.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
Business Studies
History
D & T
Media Studies
Spanish
Physics (General)
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Sports Studies
Computer Science
Food Technology
Art & Design
Religious Studies
French Language
Speech & Drama
Dance: General
Music Studies (General)
Russian
Greek

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

SATs results for this school weren't published for 2024/25 - the Department for Education withholds them when a year group is too small to report without identifying pupils.

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 3 all-through schools in Uttlesford for Ofsted rating

#1Saffron Walden County High SchoolOutstanding
#2Helena Romanes SchoolGood
#3Joyce Frankland Academy, NewportGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Saffron Walden County High SchoolOutstanding
#2Helena Romanes SchoolGood
#3Joyce Frankland Academy, NewportGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,969 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 4 all-through schools in Uttlesford for spending per pupil

#1Forest Hall School£8,104
#2Saffron Walden County High School£7,759
#3Helena Romanes School£6,969
#4Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport£6,915

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Forest Hall School£8,104
#2Saffron Walden County High School£7,759
#3Helena Romanes School£6,969
#4Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport£6,915

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Essex: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered