North Primary School and Nursery
John Harper Street, Colchester, CO1 1RP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Alan Garnett
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 458
- URN
- 114709
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206574225
About this school
North Primary School and Nursery is a community primary school in Colchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 458 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected North Primary School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 52% | 47% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 77% | 65% |
| Expected standard in maths | 69% | 70% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 73% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How North Primary School and Nursery has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 47% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 448 |
| 2023/24 | 455 |
| 2024/25 | 455 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How North Primary School and Nursery compares
North Primary School and Nursery ranked 341st of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47% | 5.1% | 21.7% | 458 | — |
| St John's Green Primary School | 61% | 4.7% | 22.5% | 591 | 0.7 miles |
| St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester | 93% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 209 | 0.7 miles |
| St James the Great Church of England Primary School | 48% | 5.9% | 27% | 438 | 0.8 miles |
| Queen Boudica Primary School | 66% | 4.6% | 17.2% | 408 | 0.8 miles |
| Braiswick Primary School | 66% | 5.7% | 14.7% | 419 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.72%
- English as an additional language
- 33.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.11%
- Persistent absence
- 10.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's Green Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St James the Great Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Queen Boudica Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Braiswick Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
North Primary School and Nursery ranks 63rd of the 66 ranked primary schools in Colchester.
- Alresford Primary School Primary
- Ardleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Baynards Primary School Primary
- Birch Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Boxted St Peter's Church of England School Primary
- Braiswick Primary School Primary
- Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brinkley Grove Primary School Primary
- Broomgrove Infant School Primary
- Broomgrove Junior School Primary
- Camulos Academy Primary
- Chappel CofE Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does North Primary School and Nursery teach?
- North Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of North Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of North Primary School and Nursery is Mr Alan Garnett, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has North Primary School and Nursery been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected North Primary School and Nursery, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at North Primary School and Nursery?
- North Primary School and Nursery has 458 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is North Primary School and Nursery full?
- North Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 420 pupils and 458 on roll (109%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is North Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. North Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does North Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records North Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have North Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 47% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does North Primary School and Nursery compare with other schools in Essex?
- North Primary School and Nursery ranked 341st of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is North Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- North Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are North Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, North Primary School and Nursery's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.