Helena Romanes School
Academy converter all-through school in Great Dunmow (Essex).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
We are delighted to welcome you to Helena Romanes School. At Helena Romanes, we are ambitious for our students and we offer them a rich and varied curriculum from the age of four to eighteen. Our students develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that enables them to move successfully into higher education, apprenticeships, training or employment.
While academic achievement is of crucial importance, we also ensure that we focus effectively on developing our students personal, social and creative skills. Our aim is that students leave Helena Romanes as successful, confident and considerate young adults. We are very proud of our students.
They are superb ambassadors for our school when they represent us locally, nationally and internationally, participating in our many and varied extra-curricular activities. At Helena Romanes, we have a large team of well-qualified, dedicated staff who focus on supporting students progress and well-being.
We work closely with parents, carers and the wider community to ensure we provide a well-coordinated approach to our students learning and development. The following information will provide an insight into life at our school, but this is no substitute for visiting us. We always offer a warm welcome to prospective students and their families.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
5 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Drama
- Duke of Edinburgh
- Football
- Rugby
- Swimming
Awards
1 awardiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Duke of EdinburghPersonal development
Key facts
- URN
- 137975
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- All-through
- Ages
- 4 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Essex
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2012
Governing body (9 current, 1 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.1 governor is linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Graham Oxborrow | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Simon Gair | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Craig Wilkins | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Tim Styles | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mr Simon Craven | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Debbie Gregory | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mr Graham Oxborrow | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2022 · until 2029 |
| Ms Catherine Davis | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2022 |
| Ms Caroline Derbyshire Confirmed same person | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2022 · until 2030 |
| Mrs Nikki Brazier Former | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record