Highwoods Community Primary School

School overview

Highwoods Community Primary School is a primary school serving Colchester, Essex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 447 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 78% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — well above the national average of 61%. That is down 3.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 6% of primary schools in England.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 108 in reading and 107 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 24% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Competition for places is real here - 84% of first-choice applicants were offered a Reception place for September 2026 (70 first choices for 60 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2025 lived 0.62 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. Overall pupil absence was 4.5%. There are about 24.6 pupils per teacher. Highwoods Community Primary School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.