Colchester Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Essex
Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, CO4 3JL
50
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 08/03/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
86.1%
36.5% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
879
Capacity used
Nearly full97%
910 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
109 of 109 families who put it first got an offer
166
Places offered
243
Total applications
1.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 109 | 109 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 41 | 13 | ● 32% |
| 3rd preference | 36 | 6 | ● 17% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 57 | 5 | ● 9% |
| Total | 243 | 133 | 55% |
1st preference success by year
Essex lets families list 6 preferences. 2 applications came from outside the council area (1 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Jenny Betts
- Address
- Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, CO4 3JL
- Phone
- 01206861217
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward / constituency
- Greenstead · Colchester
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136195
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 42% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 14% | — | — |
| SEN support | 25% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: PENROSE LEARNING TRUST
879 pupils · 910 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
08 March 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 975 pupils
Attendance
86.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
13.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
36.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
9.3%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
7.0%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 34.9 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.91 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 22% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 37% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.04 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 38.5 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 31.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 50.2% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 32.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.34 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 201 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 200 | 11% | 34% | 53% | |
| English Language | 200 | 11% | 39% | 54% | |
| English Literature | 192 | 12% | 48% | 65% | |
| Combined Science | 167 | 4% | 26% | 41% | |
| History | 114 | 17% | 45% | 54% | |
| Art and Design | 92 | 2% | 14% | 25% | |
| Geography | 76 | 13% | 42% | 54% | |
| Spanish | 67 | 16% | 51% | 67% | |
| Biology | 30 | 13% | 80% | 90% | |
| Physics | 27 | 41% | 93% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 27 | 19% | 89% | 96% | |
| Computer Science | 27 | 15% | 70% | 78% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Essex council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.