St Helena School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Essex
Sheepen Road, Colchester, CO3 3LE
59
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 30/01/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.0%
20.8% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
986
Capacity used
Nearly full99%
1,000 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
122 of 122 families who put it first got an offer
186
Places offered
571
Total applications
3.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 122 | 122 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 84 | 25 | ● 30% |
| 3rd preference | 114 | 13 | ● 11% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 251 | 13 | ● 5% |
| Total | 571 | 173 | 30% |
1st preference success by year
Essex lets families list 6 preferences. 1 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 converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Serena Kay
- Address
- Sheepen Road, Colchester, CO3 3LE
- Phone
- 01206572253
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward / constituency
- Castle · Colchester
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137944
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 34% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 17% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE SIGMA TRUST
986 pupils · 1,000 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
30 January 2024
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,042 pupils
Attendance
92.0%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.0%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
20.8%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.5%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
4.3%
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 | 41.6 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.31 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 32% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 56% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.45 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 46 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 36.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 60.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 41.7% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.01 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 204 | — |
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 | 203 | 18% | 45% | 67% | |
| English Language | 203 | 13% | 45% | 66% | |
| English Literature | 193 | 11% | 51% | 67% | |
| Combined Science | 163 | 10% | 36% | 60% | |
| History | 128 | 23% | 52% | 60% | |
| French | 85 | 16% | 49% | 69% | |
| Art and Design | 71 | 23% | 61% | 90% | |
| Geography | 67 | 12% | 34% | 51% | |
| Computer Science | 48 | 19% | 50% | 58% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 41 | 22% | 71% | 85% | |
| Biology | 38 | 37% | 76% | 79% | |
| Physics | 30 | 63% | 93% | 93% |
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.