secondary results put Colchester’s state schools ahead of 82% of towns in England; primary results, of 49%
Colchester’s secondaries average an Attainment 8 score of 51.8 across eight GCSEs, above both Essex’s towns (45.4) and towns in England (45.9). Colchester grades B+ for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #33 of 81 in Essex. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Colchester’s secondary results beat 82% of English towns; its primary results beat 49%. 61% of the city’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 63% across Essex. The spread between primaries is wide: 95% at St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester, 41% at Kings Ford Academy. Every school’s result ↓
Grammar schools in town
Colchester County High School for Girls and Colchester Royal Grammar School admit pupils by a test at 11. Their results count in Colchester’s School Grade, as they are state schools many local children attend. After 16 ↓
Brinkley Grove beats its intake
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At Brinkley Grove Primary School, 25% of pupils are on free school meals and 75% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 62%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Colchester grades B+ for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (61% meet the standard)Better than 49% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (51.8 and 56%)Better than 82% of towns in England
The secondary figure lifts Colchester; the primary figure holds it back.
Each of Colchester’s 31 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Colchester’s 10 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolEssex’s average school
The primary figure: 31 primaries in the town, 4,955 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 10 secondaries in the town, 2,057 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Colchester’s 49 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Colchester’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 3% at Colchester County High School for Girls to 51% at Unity Primary Academy. Against schools with the same intake, St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester does best: 95% with 7% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 67%. 16 of 31 primaries and 3 of 10 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Colchester
Essex County Council handles applications for every state school in Colchester, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 8 of Colchester’s 45 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 14 schools are at or over it.
Colchester Royal Grammar138%
Colchester County High School for Girls117%
St Teresa's incl. nursery116%
Lexden School with Unit for Hearing Impaired Pupils incl. nursery112%
North incl. nursery109%
Gosbecks105%
St James the Great incl. nursery104%
St Benedict's103%
Unity incl. nursery103%
King's Ford Infant incl. nursery103%
Show all 45 schools
Highwoods101%
Home Farm100%
Hamilton100%
St John's100%
The Stanway100%
Kendall100%
Old Heath100%
St Thomas More's100%
Philip Morant School and College99%
The Gilberd99%
St Helena99%
Prettygate Junior98%
Myland97%
Friars Grove97%
Queen Boudica97%
Paxman97%
Camulos97%
St. George's incl. nursery97%
Colchester97%
Brinkley Grove96%
Prettygate Infant96%
Hazelmere Junior95%
Parsons Heath94%
St John's Green94%
Braiswick93%
Stanway93%
Montgomery School, Colchester incl. nursery90%
Willow Brook incl. nursery89%
Hazelmere Infant87%
The Trinity87%
Roach Vale84%
St Michael's School, Colchester incl. nursery81%
Lakelands81%
Stanway Fiveways75%
Kings Ford63%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
49 state schools in Colchester
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Colchester’s schoolsA12B12C11D68 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 3Good 14Report card 3Inadequate 1Ungraded inspection only 27No published grade 1
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 3 of Colchester’s 49 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Sigma TrustPhilip Morant School and College, The Stanway, St Helena, Paxman
4
5,143
B−BCC
Alpha TrustThe Gilberd, Colchester County High School for Girls, The Trinity, Home Farm
4
3,988
B+A+B+A
Reach2 Academy TrustUnity, Camulos
2
838
CA−
Rosary Trust - A Catholic Multi AcademySt Teresa's, St Thomas More's
2
461
A−A+
Thinking Schools Academy TrustColchester Royal Grammar
1
1,073
A+
Penrose Learning TrustColchester
1
879
D
Highwoods Community Primary SchoolHighwoods
1
453
A
Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools TrustSt James the Great
1
438
D
Learning Pathways AcademyBraiswick
1
419
B−
Chelmsford Learning PartnershipLakelands
1
340
—
Hope Learning CommunityLexden Springs
1
301
—
Kemnal Academies TrustWillow Brook
1
186
D
Inspires MATKings Ford
1
152
D
Keys Co-Operative Academy TrustNorth East Essex Co-operative
1
105
—
Sixth Form Colleges TrustThe Sixth Form College Colchester
1
0
—
Essex County CouncilSt Benedict's, St. George's, Montgomery School, Colchester, St John's Green, Stanway Fiveways, North, Hamilton, Friars Grove, Queen Boudica, Brinkley Grove, Stanway, Myland, Prettygate Junior, Lexden School with Unit for Hearing Impaired Pupils, Hazelmere Junior, St Michael's School, Colchester, Gosbecks, St John's, Kendall, Old Heath, Parsons Heath, Roach Vale, Prettygate Infant, Hazelmere Infant, King's Ford Infant, The St Aubyn Centre Education Department
26
8,640
ACB−B−CC−A−C−B−A−C−A−B+B−DC−CB+A−B−C−D
After 16
Where Colchester’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
3 of Colchester’s 10 state secondaries have sixth forms: Colchester County High School for Girls, Colchester Royal Grammar and Philip Morant School and College. The Sixth Form College Colchester is a state 16–19 school in the city. Colchester Institute, a further-education college, is in the city.
Secondaries with a sixth form
3 of 10
state schools in Colchester
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: Colchester Institute
Grammar schools in Essex
4
selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Colchester
Colchester has 1 special school (Lexden Springs: 301 pupils) and 2 alternative provision schools, for pupils who can’t attend mainstream school for a time. A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Essex County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Essex County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
13th of 53 English towns and cities of 91,000 to 176,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Colchester, and the top and bottom of the group.
Eight Ash Green 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 3.7 mi
A−
66%
48.3
West Bergholt has the best-graded schools nearby (A−). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Colchester: 9% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Colchester
Are schools in Colchester good?
Colchester’s state schools earn a B+ against schools across England: primary results beat 49% of towns in England; secondary results beat 82% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Essex council.
What is the best secondary school in Colchester?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Colchester Royal Grammar School: Attainment 8 of 80.9 and 98% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Colchester?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester: 95% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Colchester secondary schools have sixth forms?
3 of 10 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Colchester?
Through Essex County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Colchester are full?
14 of 45 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Colchester?
49 open state-funded schools are located in Colchester’s built-up area: 35 primary, 10 secondary and 4 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
