Philip Morant School and College

Philip Morant School and College is performing well, achieving a 'Good' rating across all inspection areas in its first inspection under current standards. The school has made significant improvements since re-brokering in 2019 and now offers an ambitious and well-structured curriculum. Pupils are happy and thrive in a supportive environment, which fosters both academic and personal success. Inclusion and diversity are highly valued, and students, including those with special educational needs, are well-supported and achieve their desired outcomes in education and training after school.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a supportive and inclusive environment.
• The ambitious curriculum is well established across most subjects.
• Strong systems are in place for improving pupils' reading abilities.
• Behaviour is positive, and pupils respect staff.
• Staff are effectively managing pupils with complex behavioural needs.
• The enrichment opportunities available are diverse and well-received.

Areas for Improvement

• The understanding of religious education needs improvement.
• Connections across personal development subjects require further work.
• Some sixth-form students have limited access to a wider range of enrichment opportunities.

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 Philip Morant School and College attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.3% 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, 8.4% of pupils at Philip Morant School and College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Philip Morant School and College had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.1% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Philip Morant School and College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 7 pupils.

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 2024–25 Philip Morant School and College received £7,778 and spent £7,647 for each of its 1,835 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,364,000 (£743 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Sigma Trust, income was £8,335 and spending £8,168 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Philip Morant School and College is part of The Sigma Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Paxman Academy Colchester
• St Helena School Colchester
• The Stanway School Colchester
• The Thomas Lord Audley School Colchester
• Monkwick Junior School Colchester
• Monkwick Infant and Nursery School Colchester
• Colne Community School Colchester
• Alton Park Junior School Clacton-On-Sea
• Clacton County High School Clacton-On-Sea
• Holland Park Primary School Clacton-On-Sea

What is Philip Morant School and College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Philip Morant School and College is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was Philip Morant School and College last inspected by Ofsted?

Philip Morant School and College was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does Philip Morant School and College have?

Philip Morant School and College has 1,888 pupils on roll.

What age range does Philip Morant School and College cover?

Philip Morant School and College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Philip Morant School and College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.6, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Philip Morant School and College?

Philip Morant School and College is at Rembrandt Way, Colchester, Essex, CO3 4QS.