1
Colchester County High School for Girls
Colchester • Essex • CO3 3US
1
28 Jan 2024
Top 10 Secondary schools in Colchester
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2023)
This Top 10 showcases secondary schools in the district of Colchester. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total secondary schools
12
Outstanding
2
Good
7
Median inspection year
2023
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 18% · G: 64% · RI: 9% · I: 9%
2
The Gilberd School
Colchester • Essex • CO4 9PU
1
9 Jan 2019
3
St Helena School
Colchester • Essex • CO3 3LE
2
14 Mar 2024
4
Paxman Academy
Colchester • Essex • CO2 9DB
2
13 Mar 2024
5
Philip Morant School and College
Colchester • Essex • CO3 4QS
2
19 Oct 2023
6
Colchester Academy
Colchester • Essex • CO4 3JL
2
2 May 2023
7
The Thomas Lord Audley School
Colchester • Essex • CO2 8NJ
2
13 May 2016
8
St Benedict's Catholic College
Colchester • Essex • CO3 3US
2
16 Dec 2013
9
The Stanway School
Colchester • Essex • CO3 0QA
2
22 May 2013
10
Thurstable School
Colchester • Essex • CO5 0EW
3
7 Feb 2023
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 secondary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- Colchester Royal Grammar School 4 • Jul 2021