Prettygate Junior School

Prettygate Junior School maintains its overall good rating, but evidence suggests it could achieve an outstanding grade in the future. The school community, including pupils, parents, and staff, enjoy positive relationships, and the environment is nurturing, allowing pupils to thrive. High expectations from staff contribute to students’ significant progress, especially in their understanding of the school’s core values of ambition, respect, and kindness. Through a well-structured curriculum and targeted support, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve consistently well. The leadership is reflective and supportive, prioritizing both students' academic and emotional well-being.

Strengths

• Positive relationships among pupils, parents, and staff
• High expectations from staff lead to significant pupil progress
• Strong support for pupils with SEND
• Effective curriculum that covers essential knowledge and skills
• Highly engaging teaching methods that foster student enthusiasm
• Commitment to pupils' emotional well-being alongside academics
• Robust personal development programs and a variety of extracurricular activities

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 Prettygate Junior School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.2% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Prettygate Junior 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 Prettygate Junior School had 26.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Prettygate Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Prettygate Junior School received £7,732 and spent £7,437 for each of its 250 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £359,000 (£1,435 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 Prettygate Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Prettygate Junior School is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was Prettygate Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Prettygate Junior School was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does Prettygate Junior School have?

Prettygate Junior School has 250 pupils on roll.

What age range does Prettygate Junior School cover?

Prettygate Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Prettygate Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Prettygate Junior School?

Prettygate Junior School is at Plume Avenue, Colchester, Essex, CO3 4PH.