St John's RC School (Essex)
St John's RC School (Essex) is a non-maintained special school in Woodford Bridge for boys and girls aged 5 to 19. It has 102 pupils, 2 more than it has places for. About 36 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Turpins Lane, Woodford Bridge, IG8 8AX020 8504 1818stjohnsrcschool.co.ukMrs Wendy Killilea headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 21 April 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December 2021 | Ungraded | School remains Good |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
12 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 5 | – | – |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Essex council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Essex with moderate learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (46), Severe learning difficulty (20), Autistic spectrum disorder (14), language and communications needs (10), Other difficulty or disability (3), emotional and mental health (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 102 | 102 | 98 | 99 | 99 | 98 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 36% | 43% | 46% | 48% | 53% | 44% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 27% | 25% | 25% | 20% | 20% | 24% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 11.2% | 8.7% | 11.3% | 13.5% | 8.0% | 8.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.4% | 7.4% | 10.6% | 11.2% | 7.3% | 7.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.8% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 2.3% | 0.8% | 1.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 33.3% | 29.6% | 36.8% | 37.8% | 21.6% | 35.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 14 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with 100% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Hatch High School | Academy | 380 m | 1,573 | Good 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| Roding Primary School | Council | 870 m | 438 | No overall grade 2024 | 58 | Compare |
| Luxborough Court School | Independent | 0.6 miles | 80 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Ray Lodge Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 674 | Report card 2026 | 73 | Compare |
| Fairlop Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 681 | Not inspected | 88 | Compare |
| Limes Farm Junior School | Council | 1.0 miles | 154 | Good 2022 | 44 | Compare |
| Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery | Academy | 1.0 miles | 182 | Good 2022 | 32 | Compare |
| Gilbert Colvin Primary School | Council | 1.0 miles | 344 | No overall grade 2025 | 76 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is St John's RC School (Essex) a good school?
St John's RC School (Essex) doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from April 2026 rated its teaching as as expected.
What is St John's RC School (Essex)'s Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 21 April 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as as expected.
How many pupils does St John's RC School (Essex) have?
102 pupils aged 5 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 100 places, so it is 102% full.
What is attendance like at St John's RC School (Essex)?
Pupils were in school 88.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does St John's RC School (Essex) have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does St John's RC School (Essex) have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Turpins Lane, Woodford Bridge, IG8 8AX
- Telephone
- 020 8504 1818
- Website
- www.stjohnsrcschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Wendy Killilea
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Grange Hill
- Constituency
- Epping Forest
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 115466 · LAESTAB 8817050 · UKPRN 10017742
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.