Secondary school offers in Essex: offer day 2027

National Offer Day Monday 1 March 2027 · 78 secondary schools · first-choice odds, waiting lists and appeals

How likely is a first choice here?

For September 2026 entry, 83.4% of families living in Essex were offered their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England. 503 families (3.0%) were offered none of the schools they named. Essex ranks 73 of 150 councils in England, hardest first (see every council).

28 of its 78 secondary schools had more first-choice applications than places.

The most sought-after, by first-choice applications per place offered: King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford (2.8 per place; grammar, 11+ needed), Colchester Royal Grammar School (2.2 per place; grammar, 11+ needed), Chelmsford County High School for Girls (2.0 per place; grammar, 11+ needed), Colchester County High School for Girls (1.7 per place; grammar, 11+ needed), Becket Keys Church of England Free School (1.6 per place).

If you didn't get your first choice

1. Accept the place you were offered by the date in your offer letter. Accepting it does not affect a waiting list or an appeal, and a place that isn't accepted can be withdrawn.
2. Get on the waiting lists you want. Every school must keep one until at least 31 December of the year your child starts. It is ranked by the school's admission rules, not by when you joined, so a family moving closer can go above you. Some councils add you automatically for schools you ranked higher than the one offered; your offer letter says which.
3. Decide whether to appeal. You can appeal for every school that refused your child. You get at least 20 school days from the offer to lodge it, and on-time appeals must be heard within 40 school days of that deadline. The figures below show how often appeals succeed here.
4. Look at schools that took lower preferences. These are the likeliest to have room now.

Schools that took children who ranked them lower

For September 2026 entry these 49 schools offered more places than they had first-choice applications, so some went to families who put them second or lower. They are the likeliest to have room after offer day; ask Essex or the school.

• Beauchamps High School Wickford
• Brentwood County High School Brentwood
• Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School Brentwood
• Burnt Mill Academy Harlow
• Castle View School Canvey Island
• Chelmer Valley High School Chelmsford
• Colchester Academy Colchester
• Colne Community School Colchester
• Forest Hall School Stansted Mountfitchet
• Harris Academy Benfleet Benfleet
• Harris Academy Billericay Billericay
• Harris Academy Wickford Wickford
• Harwich and Dovercourt High School Harwich
• Hedingham School and Sixth Form Halstead
• Helena Romanes School Great Dunmow
• Hylands School Chelmsford
• Joyce Frankland Academy, Newport Saffron Walden
• King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy Waltham Abbey
• Lift Clacton Clacton on Sea
• Lift Maltings Witham
• Lift New Rickstones Witham
• Lift Tendring Frinton-on-Sea
• Manningtree High School Manningtree
• Mark Hall Academy Harlow
• Mayflower High School Billericay
• Notley High School and Sixth Form Braintree
• Ormiston Rivers Academy Burnham-on-Crouch
• Paxman Academy Colchester
• Philip Morant School and College Colchester
• Plume School Maldon
• Roding Valley High School Loughton
• Shenfield High School Brentwood
• Sir Frederick Gibberd College Harlow
• St Helena School Colchester
• St Martin's School Brentwood Brentwood
• Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow Harlow
• Tabor Academy Braintree
• The Basildon Lower Academy Basildon
• The Deanes Benfleet
• The FitzWimarc School Rayleigh
• The King Edmund School Rochford
• The Ongar Academy Ongar
• The Ramsey Academy, Halstead Halstead
• The Sandon School Chelmsford
• The Stanway School Colchester
• The Sweyne Park School Rayleigh
• The Trinity School Colchester
• Thurstable School Colchester
• William de Ferrers School Chelmsford

Every secondary school: demand for 2026 entry

Sorted by first-choice applications per place, the most contested first.

Places offered is the number of offers made on national offer day, and first choices offered the share of families who put the school first and got it (Department for Education, September 2026 entry).

Appeals in Essex

Secondary school appeals across all of Essex, from the Department for Education. Appeals are not published school by school. Across England in 2025/26, 19.5% of 27,084 secondary appeals heard were upheld. How appeal odds differ between councils.

More for Essex

• Every school in Essex, with catchment areas and Ofsted
• Starting school in Essex
• Map of schools near your home, with your chance of a place where we have the data