Colne Community School

Academy converter·Secondary school Colchester, Essex·CO7 0QL
Composite score
53.8
Compare Colne Community School with another school
#2,061
National rank
#225
In East of England
#44
In Essex
Top 65%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
43.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
40%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
63%
% EBacc grade 5+
7%
EBacc average points score
3.65

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
234 first choices, 256 places
First choices per place
0.91
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
330
any preference, for 256 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.04
00.511.5
1 per place
0.8920220.9920230.9620240.8720250.912026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Colne Community School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,283
Gender
Mixed

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
20.9%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
3.7%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.7%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.1%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.5%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
24.0%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.9
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,593
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
93%
237 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
89%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Colne Community School

Colne Community School is a secondary school in Colchester, Essex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 1,283 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 43.0 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 2.5 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

40% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 63% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Colne Community School their first choice was offered one of its 256 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 93% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.5%. There are about 17.9 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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.

Compare Colne Community School with another school