Colchester Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Ages 11–16 · Colchester, Essex
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Essex County Council · offers on 2 March 2026
Year 7 last distance offered, 2022–2026 (miles)
All: every applicant was offered a place.
Colchester Academy is a secondary school in Colchester, Essex for ages 11–16 (academy sponsor led). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 8 March 2023. Essex has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2022 to 2026 entry.
Colchester Academy catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
| Year 7 2025 | Every applicant was offered a place |
| Year 7 2023 | Every applicant was offered a place |
| Year 7 2022 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- GCSE English and maths grade 5 or above, 2024/25: 31%, lowest of 8 schools (this one and the 7 of the 8 nearest secondary schools in Essex that have results).
- Every applicant was offered a Year 7 place in 2026, as at 59 of the 71 other Essex secondary schools with a published 2026 outcome.
- Year 7 2026: 105 first-choice applications for 160 offers, with every first-choice family offered a place and 55 offers going to families who ranked it second or lower.
- 42.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, against a middle figure of 16.3% across the 8 nearest secondary schools in Essex.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Essex schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, CO4 3JL
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Council
- Essex
- Pupils on roll
- 879 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 42.1% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.5
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 8 March 2023
Strengths
- “Colchester Academy is a friendly and inclusive school.”
- “Pupils are happy and are safe.”
- “The majority of pupils meet the high expectations that leaders set.”
To improve
- “On occasions, there is disruption to lessons by a small number of pupils who do not behave well.”
- “Bullying occasionally takes place.”
- “However, despite significant improvements to the curriculum, there is still a lagged effect in the published data.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 3 May 2023 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 31% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 38.5 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 105 first-preference applications, 160 offers in total, 105 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Essex.
- The Gilberd School 1.7 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- The Trinity School 1.8 mi Not judged Last distance published
- St Helena School 2.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Colchester Royal Grammar School 2.3 mi No Ofsted grade
- The Thomas Lord Audley School 2.4 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Colchester County High School for Girls 2.8 mi Outstanding
- St Benedict's Catholic College 2.8 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Philip Morant School and College 3.0 mi Good Last distance published