Alec Hunter Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,058 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.7
Academy sponsor led
Forest Hall School
- Pupils on roll
- 506of 648 places
- Free school meals
- 30.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 78
- Ofsted
- Report card, 10 February 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Needs attentionAttendance and behaviour Needs attentionPersonal development and wellbeing Strong standardInclusion Strong standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Forest Hall School (URN 115222, until 10 September 2014).
What the data says
Forest Hall School has no sixth form. Of the 95 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 49% to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 46% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 40.6 against 46.1 across England and 45.1 in Essex, with 35% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: 1% took an apprenticeship and 7% went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
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 | Forest Hall School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 95 | 15,970 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 80% | 86% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 29% | 37% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 9% | 13% |
| — further education college | 49% | 38% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 7% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 5% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Forest Hall School | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 40.6 | 45.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 43% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 46% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.56 | 3.97 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 37% | 22% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 37.3 | 31.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 42.6 | 48.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 4% | 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 Literature | 74 | 95% | 86% | 3% | 21% | 74% |
| Mathematics | 74 | 95% | 88% | 11% | 22% | 66% |
| English Language | 74 | 95% | 89% | 9% | 20% | 73% |
| Combined Science | 64 | 82% | 65% | 0% | 9% | 47% |
| History | 53 | 68% | 41% | 9% | 26% | 51% |
| Photography | 36 | 46% | 6% | 3% | 19% | 67% |
| Business Studies | 31 | 40% | 18% | 0% | 20% | 29% |
| Spanish | 25 | 32% | 19% | 12% | 27% | 44% |
| Citizenship Studies | 22 | 28% | 3% | 14% | 19% | 95% |
| Art and Design | 16 | 21% | 7% | 0% | 24% | 38% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 14 | 18% | 8% | 7% | 21% | 57% |
| French | 11 | 14% | 18% | 18% | 29% | 55% |
| Computer Science | 11 | 14% | 13% | 0% | 30% | 55% |
| Physical Education | 11 | 14% | 11% | 9% | 24% | 55% |
| Geography | 10 | 13% | 41% | 30% | 25% | 80% |
| Biology | 10 | 13% | 23% | 30% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 13% | 23% | 10% | 47% | 100% |
| Physics | 10 | 13% | 23% | 40% | 46% | 100% |
| Drama | 7 | 9% | 7% | 14% | 27% | 57% |
| Design and Technology | 5 | 6% | 11% | — | 23% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | 33 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 13 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 7 | — | — |
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.