primary results put Harlow’s state schools ahead of 64% of towns in England; secondary results, of 23%
At Harlow’s secondaries, 37% of pupils reach grade 5 in both English and maths, below both Essex’s towns (44%) and towns in England (45%). 39 state-funded schools are located in Harlow’s built-up area. Harlow grades C+ for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #55 of 81 in Essex. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Harlow’s secondary results beat 23% of English towns; its primary results beat 64%. 64% of the large town’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 63% across Essex. The spread between primaries is wide: 89% at Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery, 38% at Water Lane Primary Academy. Every school’s result ↓
Hare Street beats its intake
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery, 29% of pupils are on free school meals and 89% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 61%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Harlow grades C+ for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (64% meet the standard)Better than 64% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (42.3 and 37%)Better than 23% of towns in England
The primary figure lifts Harlow; the secondary figure holds it back.
Each of Harlow’s 27 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Harlow’s 6 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolEssex’s average school
The primary figure: 28 primaries in the town, 3,811 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 6 secondaries in the town, 1,053 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Harlow’s 39 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Harlow’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table. The 6 secondaries are named.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 10% at Fawbert and Barnard's Primary School to 46% at Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery. Against schools with the same intake, Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery does best: 89% with 29% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 61%. 17 of 27 primaries and 0 of 6 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Harlow
Essex County Council handles applications for every state school in Harlow, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 8 of Harlow’s 35 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 9 schools are at or over it.
Newhall incl. nursery118%
Sir Frederick Gibberd College110%
St Luke's incl. nursery110%
Pear Tree Mead incl. nursery110%
Hare Street incl. nursery108%
St Alban's incl. nursery108%
Tany's Dell incl. nursery104%
William Martin incl. nursery103%
Longwood incl. nursery101%
Passmores100%
Show all 35 schools
Fawbert and Barnard's99%
Pemberley99%
St Mark's West Essex98%
Purford Green incl. nursery98%
William Martin98%
Abbotsweld97%
Henry Moore97%
St James incl. nursery97%
Cooks Spinney incl. nursery95%
Holy Cross94%
Water Lane94%
Milwards incl. nursery94%
Stewards93%
Jerounds incl. nursery93%
Freshwaters incl. nursery93%
Churchgate91%
Harlowbury88%
The Downs incl. nursery86%
Little Parndon84%
Potter Street80%
Church Langley80%
Mark Hall80%
Burnt Mill80%
Kingsmoor incl. nursery80%
Katherines incl. nursery74%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
39 state schools in Harlow
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Harlow’s schoolsA7B14C9D45 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 1Good 10Report card 3Requires improvement 2Ungraded inspection only 23
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 3 of Harlow’s 39 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Bmat EducationBurnt Mill, Sir Frederick Gibberd College, Mark Hall, Cooks Spinney, Freshwaters, Little Parndon, Bmat Stem
7
4,154
BC+C−C−BC−
Net Academies TrustTany's Dell, Longwood, Jerounds, Abbotsweld, Katherines, Fawbert and Barnard's, Harlowbury
7
2,183
A−B+BB−A−BB
Passmores Co-Operative Learning CommunityPassmores, Stewards, Pear Tree Mead, The Downs, Purford Green, Potter Street
6
3,430
DC−B+C−A−B
Reach2 Academy TrustNewhall, Pemberley, Water Lane
3
902
BAD−
Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools TrustWilliam Martin, St James, William Martin
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Multi Academy TrustSt Luke's, St Alban's
2
458
DC
Beckmead TrustBeckmead Moundwood, The Greenwell
2
84
—
St. Mark's West Essex Catholic SchoolSt Mark's West Essex
1
1,099
B
Holy Cross Catholic Primary AcademyHoly Cross
1
412
B
Academy Transformation TrustKingsmoor
1
280
A−
Essex County CouncilHare Street, Church Langley, Harlow Fields School and College, Churchgate
4
1,265
A+B+D
After 16
Where Harlow’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
2 of Harlow’s 6 state secondaries have sixth forms: Sir Frederick Gibberd College and St Mark's West Essex. Harlow College, a further-education college, is in the large town.
Special schools and alternative provision in Harlow
Harlow has 2 special schools (Harlow Fields School and College and The Greenwell: 232 pupils) and 1 alternative provision school, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Essex County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Essex County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
43rd of 79 English towns and cities of 65,000 to 126,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Harlow, and the top and bottom of the group.
Coopersale 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.2 mi
B+
66%
46.6
Lower Nazeing 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.6 mi
B
64%
47.1
Epping 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 4.6 mi
A
68%
51
North Weald Bassett has the best-graded schools nearby (A). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Harlow: 8% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Harlow
Are schools in Harlow good?
Harlow’s state schools earn a C+ against schools across England: primary results beat 64% of towns in England; secondary results beat 23% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Essex council.
What is the best secondary school in Harlow?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, St Mark's West Essex Catholic School: Attainment 8 of 50 and 48% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Harlow?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Hare Street Community Primary School and Nursery: 89% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Harlow secondary schools have sixth forms?
2 of 6 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Harlow?
Through Essex County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Harlow are full?
9 of 35 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Harlow?
39 open state-funded schools are located in Harlow’s built-up area: 29 primary, 6 secondary and 4 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
