A council (local authority) in the East of England
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Fewer pupils miss a lot of school than across England.
Thurrock at a glance
How Thurrock's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
39 mainstream schools in Thurrock, best first
Results well above the England average.
96 first choices, 58 offers made
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
87 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1186%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
55 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
13 mainstream schools in Thurrock, best first
Results well above the England average.
374 first choices, 207 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.5
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
82 first choices, 137 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.5
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
265 first choices, 236 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.7
England 46.2
54 in Thurrock, highest Ofsted grade first
Fobbing, SS17 9JP · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Stanford-Le-Hope, SS17 7LS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Purfleet-on-Thames, RM19 1RJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
7 in Thurrock, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
374 first choices, 207 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.5
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
265 first choices, 236 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.7
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
148 first choices, 180 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1648.1
England 46.2
4 in Thurrock. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
South Ockendon, RM15 5AY · Academy · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Grays, RM16 2WU · Academy · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Grays, RM16 2WU · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
2 in Thurrock. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Grays, RM17 5DF · Independent · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Tilbury, RM18 7RT · Independent · All-through · Ages 9 to 14
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Thurrock is a unitary authority in the East of England with 39 mainstream primary schools and 13 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Grays, Stanford-le-Hope and Chafford Hundred, West Thurrock and Purfleet-on-Thames. Most state schools here are academies or free schools (98%), so many set their own term dates and admissions rules. Pupil numbers have grown 10% since 2018.
From Thurrock council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
90.1%got their first-choice primary school in Thurrock in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 115 of 151 councils. 97.0% got one of their top three.2.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
74.8%got their first-choice secondary school in Thurrock in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 121 of 151 councils. 89.1% got one of their top three.10.1% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
1 of 23 primary appeals heard in Thurrock succeeded in 2025. 9 of 100 secondary appeals heard in Thurrock succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Thurrock school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 37 inspected are Good or better.
54nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
96% Good or better. 69% met the standard at 11.
44schools
Ages 11 to 16
2 Outstanding, 5 Good, 3 need to improve. 46% got grade 5 in English and maths.
18schools
All 3 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
4schools
Here's how Thurrock's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Thurrock average, 57.
Average primary score
53Thurrock 57
Average primary score
66Thurrock 57
Average primary score
63Thurrock 57
Average primary score
53Thurrock 57
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
ThurrockEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 28 primaries with one.
96%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
7 of the 10 with a grade.
70%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
69%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
46%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
17%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
22%
Latest graded inspection for the 42 schools that have one.
90%
Good or Outstanding
Thurrock in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Thurrock | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 91% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 69% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 17% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.6:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,467 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 92% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 63% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 19% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 24% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 24% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 883, ONS code E06000034.
Thurrock has 112 schools and nurseries across 7 towns and villages, the biggest being Grays, Stanford-le-Hope, Chafford Hundred, West Thurrock and Purfleet-on-Thames and South Ockendon.
There are 10% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
22% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Thurrock's state schools each January.
Up 10% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Thurrock22%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Thurrock has 112 schools, including 44 primary schools, 18 secondary schools, 54 nurseries, 2 independent schools, 4 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Thurrock on Eduscope are Quarry Hill Academy, Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, Dilkes Academy. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
91% of inspected schools in Thurrock hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 8 schools rated Outstanding and 30 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Thurrock, 69% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Thurrock is 18.6:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Thurrock is 16.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 31,216 pupils enrolled across schools in Thurrock, with 18,479 in primary and 12,737 in secondary. 23.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 2 independent schools in Thurrock. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Thurrock on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 112 schools in Thurrock by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
