Paxman Academy
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Essex
Paxman Avenue, Colchester, CO2 9DB
62
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 06/02/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
91.8%
21.8% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
873
Capacity used
Nearly full97%
900 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
104 of 104 families who put it first got an offer
171
Places offered
492
Total applications
2.9
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 104 | 104 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 116 | 19 | ● 16% |
| 3rd preference | 103 | 10 | ● 10% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 169 | 9 | ● 5% |
| Total | 492 | 142 | 29% |
1st preference success by year
Essex lets families list 6 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 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
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Headteacher
- Debbie Kershaw
- Address
- Paxman Avenue, Colchester, CO2 9DB
- Phone
- 01206413813
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward / constituency
- Shrub End · Colchester
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147080
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 33% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 13% | — | — |
| SEN support | 16% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE SIGMA TRUST
873 pupils · 900 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
06 February 2024
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 · 944 pupils
Attendance
91.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.8%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.5%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.6%
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 | 43.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.17 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 41% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 59% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.93 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 41.3 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 34.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 48.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 17.1% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.37 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 175 | — |
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 | 175 | 13% | 43% | 59% | |
| English Language | 175 | 8% | 38% | 58% | |
| English Literature | 161 | 9% | 43% | 63% | |
| Combined Science | 133 | 5% | 22% | 49% | |
| Geography | 86 | 7% | 37% | 50% | |
| History | 74 | 8% | 34% | 49% | |
| Art and Design | 73 | 11% | 38% | 64% | |
| Drama | 39 | 3% | 33% | 41% | |
| Biology | 39 | 28% | 62% | 82% | |
| Chemistry | 33 | 27% | 76% | 94% | |
| Physics | 32 | 28% | 91% | 100% | |
| Spanish | 32 | 6% | 19% | 38% |
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.