Hamilton Primary School

Hamilton Primary School is a happy, welcoming community primary school where pupils enjoy learning and achieve well. All key judgements are good: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils have strong relationships with staff, understand the school’s values, and benefit from an ambitious, well-planned curriculum that builds knowledge from the early years. Reading and phonics are particular priorities and are taught consistently well, contributing to strong outcomes by the end of Year 6.

Strengths

• Happy, welcoming school with strong values and positive relationships
• Ambitious, well-planned curriculum that builds on early years learning
• Strong reading and phonics provision with regular checks and targeted support
• Pupils achieve well, including strong Year 6 outcomes
• Effective behaviour policy with quick responses to trends and interventions
• High priority on attendance with tailored plans for pupils who struggle
• Wide personal development offer and clear PSHE curriculum
• Staff feel well supported and leaders consider workload and wellbeing
• Governors know their roles and responsibilities and fulfil them thoroughly
• Parents are positive about the school and safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Support for a small number of pupils with SEND is not sufficiently matched to their specific needs, limiting their progress
• Staff working with some pupils with SEND need a more secure understanding of how to deliver the required provision

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Hamilton Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.4% of pupils at Hamilton Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Hamilton Primary School had 25.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 7.1% of pupils at Hamilton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Hamilton Primary School received £6,349 and spent £6,245 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £278,000 (£662 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Colchester · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Hamilton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hamilton Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Hamilton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hamilton Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Hamilton Primary School have?

Hamilton Primary School has 420 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hamilton Primary School cover?

Hamilton Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hamilton Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hamilton Primary School?

Hamilton Primary School is at Constantine Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3GB.