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Schools in Essex

603 schools in the Essex local authority.

Schools

603

Open schools

Pupils

233,321

2025–26 census

Good or better

94%

458 of 488 graded

Academic Performance

5.1

out of 10 · 544 schools

Ofsted ratings

Outstanding
40 8%
Good
418 86%
Requires improvement
24 5%
Inadequate
6 1%
45 inspected since 2024, no overall grade41 superseded by a report card70 not judged3 in a category of concern7 safeguarding not effective
5.1
Academic Performance

Averaged over 544 of 603 schools that can be scored

Pupils

233,321

pupils on roll

Boys 51%49% Girls

Roll from 601 of 603 schools (233,321 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.

Ethnicity

White
79%
Asian
6%
Black
5%
Mixed
6%
Chinese
<1%
Any other group
1%
Unclassified
2%

Ethnicity from 556 of 603 schools (222,480 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.

Pupil characteristics

Free school meals
20.4%

45,278 of 222,480 pupils · 556 of 603 schools

First language not English
11.4%

25,328 of 222,480 pupils · 556 of 603 schools

Young carers
1.6%

3,446 of 222,251 pupils · 554 of 603 schools

Schools by phase

Primary
460
Secondary
81
All-through
11
Special
26
Nursery
2
PRU
6
Not recorded
17

Top primary schools in Essex

The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.

Top secondary schools in Essex

The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.

Browse all 603 schools in Essex — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.

About schools in Essex

How many schools are there in Essex?
Essex has 603 open schools — 460 primary, 81 secondary, 26 special, 2 nursery, teaching 233,321 pupils in total.
How many schools in Essex are rated Good or Outstanding?
458 of the 488 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 94% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 40 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 603: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
What is the average Academic Performance in Essex?
5.1 out of 10, averaged across the 544 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
Why do some Essex schools have no Ofsted rating?
115 schools in Essex currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
What does Essex local authority do?
A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Essex covers 603 schools and sits in the East of England region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
How many pupils in Essex are eligible for free school meals?
20.4% — 45,278 of 222,480 pupils at the 556 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.

Part of the East of England region.