St Benedict's Catholic College

St Benedict’s Catholic College continues to perform well as a good school, demonstrating a strong sense of community and prioritizing both academic success and the personal development of its students. Parents express high satisfaction with the school's caring ethos, while students display respect and positive attitudes towards staff and peers. The school's leadership is ambitious and effectively engages staff, further enhancing the school's improvement journey. However, there are some concerns regarding the consistency of assessment methods in a few subjects, which affects the ability of teachers to identify misconceptions and support student learning adequately.

Strengths

• Strong community ethos promoting academic achievement and care for pupils.
• Good relationships between staff and pupils fostering a respectful environment.
• Welcoming and calm atmosphere with effective behavior management.
• Successful curriculum planning and supportive learning environments.
• Active involvement of students in leadership opportunities and extra-curricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment in some subjects, hindering effective support for student learning.

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 St Benedict's Catholic College attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 2.9% of pupils at St Benedict's Catholic College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 St Benedict's Catholic College had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 17.9% of pupils at St Benedict's Catholic College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St Benedict's Catholic College received £7,696 and spent £7,615 for each of its 905 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £396,000 (£438 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 St Benedict's Catholic College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Benedict's Catholic College is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was St Benedict's Catholic College last inspected by Ofsted?

St Benedict's Catholic College was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does St Benedict's Catholic College have?

St Benedict's Catholic College has 905 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Benedict's Catholic College cover?

St Benedict's Catholic College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Benedict's Catholic College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 58.4, and 76% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Benedict's Catholic College?

St Benedict's Catholic College is at Norman Way, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3US.