Chelmsford GCSE Results 2026: Grammar Schools Lead Essex as Beaulieu Park Records Strong Performance

Chelmsford's secondary schools have recorded some of Essex's strongest GCSE results, with new government figures showing the city's two grammar schools leading the county and The Beaulieu Park School performing particularly well among non-selective schools.

The Department for Education published provisional school performance figures for the 2025/26 academic year on Thursday 15 October, providing a detailed picture of how pupils performed in this summer's GCSE examinations.

King Edward VI Grammar School (KEGS) and Chelmsford County High School for Girls recorded the highest average Attainment 8 scores among the 80 state mainstream secondary schools in the Essex County Council area.

Meanwhile, The Beaulieu Park School recorded the strongest results among Chelmsford's non-selective secondary schools on the same measure.

The figures also show that pupils living in Chelmsford achieved better GCSE results overall than the national average.

Chelmsford's grammar schools record outstanding results

King Edward VI Grammar School recorded an Attainment 8 score of 83.0, with 99.3% of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in both English and mathematics.

Chelmsford County High School for Girls achieved an Attainment 8 score of 81.4, with 98.9% of pupils securing grade 5 or above in both subjects.

Both schools are academically selective, meaning their results should be considered in the context of their admissions arrangements.

The results place them ahead of the other state mainstream secondary schools in the Essex County Council area when compared using average Attainment 8 scores.

Beaulieu Park School leads Chelmsford's non-selective schools

The Beaulieu Park School also recorded a strong set of results.

The school achieved an Attainment 8 score of 59.3, with 77.7% of pupils gaining grade 5 or above in both English and mathematics.

This compares with 62.6% achieving the same English and mathematics benchmark in 2025.

The results place Beaulieu Park among the highest-attaining non-selective secondary schools in the county.

Moulsham High School also performed above the national average, recording an Attainment 8 score of 54.8 and a grade 5 English and mathematics rate of 60.9%.

Chelmsford GCSE results 2026 — School-by-school figures

The following figures are taken from the provisional Department for Education performance data for 2025/26.

The figures are provisional. The table is ordered by Attainment 8, not by an assessment of overall school quality. Results are influenced by factors including pupil intake and admissions policies.

Chelmsford pupils outperform the national average

Across the Chelmsford district, 2,121 pupils completed Year 11 at state schools during the 2025/26 academic year.

Their average Attainment 8 score was 51.2, compared with 46.2 nationally and 46.3 across the East of England.

Meanwhile, 53.7% of Chelmsford pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and mathematics, compared with 46.3% nationally.

The figures are based on where pupils live rather than the location of the school they attend.

Chelmsford and Brentwood both recorded average Attainment 8 scores of 51.2, placing them jointly at the top among Essex County Council's districts on that measure.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is a government measure used to assess the average achievement of pupils across eight GCSE-level qualifications.

English and mathematics receive additional weighting, alongside other subjects included in the measure.

A higher Attainment 8 score generally indicates higher average grades across the qualifications included.

However, the measure does not account fully for differences in pupil intake, prior attainment or the circumstances of individual schools.

For this reason, parents should avoid treating a single performance figure as a complete measure of a school's effectiveness.

The Department for Education has not published Progress 8 scores for 2026 because the relevant pupils did not take Key Stage 2 assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results highlight gap for disadvantaged pupils

Although Chelmsford's overall results were above the national average, the figures also reveal differences in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

Among pupils living in Chelmsford, 25.4% of disadvantaged pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and mathematics.

That compares with 59.2% of pupils who were not classified as disadvantaged.

The difference is 33.8 percentage points.

The figures underline the importance of looking beyond headline school results when assessing educational outcomes across the district.

How did Chelmsford schools perform compared with previous years?

Several local schools recorded improvements in individual performance measures.

The Beaulieu Park School saw its grade 5 English and mathematics rate rise from 62.6% in 2025 to 77.7% in 2026.

Chelmer Valley High School increased its Attainment 8 score from 45.3 to 48.0, while its grade 5 English and mathematics rate rose from 43.1% to 50.0%.

Hylands School also improved its Attainment 8 score, rising from 37.8 in 2025 to 40.3 in 2026.

Other schools recorded lower results in some measures than in the previous year.

Individual year groups can differ considerably, so changes over a single year should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of a longer-term improvement or decline.

Secondary school applications for September 2027

The publication of the figures comes as families prepare to apply for secondary school places for September 2027.

The application deadline for Essex County Council secondary school admissions is 31 October 2026.

Parents are encouraged to consider a range of information when choosing schools, including admissions criteria, curriculum, pastoral support, transport arrangements and the needs of their children.

GCSE results provide one useful measure, but they do not tell the whole story about a school.

Families can find application guidance and admissions information on the Essex County Council website.

Where can parents check the official GCSE results?

The Department for Education publishes school performance information and statistics covering GCSE results across England.

The latest figures are provisional and may be revised following checks and corrections.

Official sources:

All results quoted relate to the provisional 2025/26 academic year performance data published in October 2026.