Colchester Royal Grammar School

Colchester Royal Grammar School is performing exceptionally well overall. Inspectors found a deeply ambitious curriculum, consistently expert teaching and very high achievement at GCSE and A level. Pupils are articulate, intellectually curious and well prepared for their next steps, while disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong progress because inclusion is built into everyday practice rather than added on. Leadership and governance are a defining strength, with the trust and governors working closely with school leaders to sustain high standards. Post-16 provision is highly effective and inclusive, with meticulous transition support, particularly for girls joining the sixth form, and excellent outcomes and destinations. Attendance and behaviour are strong, and personal development and wellbeing are embedded across the school, supported by extensive enrichment, strong pastoral care and a clear sense of belonging. Safeguarding standards are met. The school has no significant weaknesses. Its next steps are to continue improving all areas of school work, particularly by building on the strong standards already seen in attendance, inclusion and personal development. The school is part of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust.

Strengths

• Pupils develop deep, cumulative subject knowledge and achieve exceptionally well at GCSE and A level.
• Teaching is consistently highly effective, delivered by subject specialists, and assessment is used well to address misconceptions.
• The curriculum is ambitious, tightly sequenced and goes beyond examination success to prepare pupils for future study and life.
• Leadership and governance are highly effective, with an uncompromising focus on improvement and a strong trust/governor partnership.
• Post-16 provision is highly effective, inclusive and academically demanding, with strong transition support and excellent outcomes.
• Inclusion is embedded across the school, with disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND supported to make strong progress.
• Attendance is above national averages and behaviour is excellent, with calm, purposeful classrooms and respectful pupils.
• Personal development and wellbeing are embedded across the culture and curriculum, with extensive enrichment, leadership and volunteering opportunities.
• Pastoral care is a notable strength, with pupils feeling safe, listened to and well supported.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.

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 Colchester Royal Grammar School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.2% 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, 2.3% of pupils at Colchester Royal Grammar School 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 Colchester Royal Grammar School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.8% 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, 8.0% of pupils at Colchester Royal Grammar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.4% 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 2024–25 Colchester Royal Grammar School received £8,036 and spent £9,437 for each of its 1,060 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £697,000 (£658 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, income was £8,363 and spending £8,363 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

Colchester Royal Grammar School is part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Maritime Academy Rochester
• All Faiths Children's Academy Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Junior Rochester
• Gordons Children's Academy, Infant Rochester
• Cedar Children's Academy Rochester
• The Victory Academy Chatham
• The Rochester Grammar School Rochester
• Holcombe Grammar School Chatham
• New Horizons Children's Academy Chatham
• Goodwin Academy Deal

What is Colchester Royal Grammar School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Colchester Royal Grammar School is Strong standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Colchester Royal Grammar School last inspected by Ofsted?

Colchester Royal Grammar School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Colchester Royal Grammar School have?

Colchester Royal Grammar School has 1,073 pupils on roll.

What age range does Colchester Royal Grammar School cover?

Colchester Royal Grammar School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Colchester Royal Grammar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 80.9, and 98% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Colchester Royal Grammar School?

Colchester Royal Grammar School is at Lexden Road, Colchester, CO3 3ND.