Roach Vale Primary School
Roach Vale, Parsons Heath, Colchester, CO4 3YN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Sophie Denyer
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 177
- URN
- 114823
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206861324
About this school
Roach Vale Primary School is a community primary school in Colchester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 177 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 25 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 37% | 48% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 64% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 64% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 56% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.40 | - | - |
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 Roach Vale Primary School 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 | 37% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 188 |
| 2023/24 | 188 |
| 2024/25 | 192 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Roach Vale Primary School compares
Roach Vale Primary School ranked 269th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 5.1% | 39.1% | 177 | — |
| Parsons Heath Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 47% | 5.4% | 42.6% | 197 | 0.2 miles |
| Hazelmere Junior School | 38% | 7.4% | 46.8% | 229 | 0.2 miles |
| Hazelmere Infant School and Nursery | — | 6.4% | 32.8% | 156 | 0.2 miles |
| Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery | 50% | 7.7% | 38.5% | 186 | 0.6 miles |
| Friars Grove Primary School | 59% | 5.2% | 20.1% | 408 | 0.6 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)
- 39.06%
- English as an additional language
- 14.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.09%
- Persistent absence
- 15.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parsons Heath Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Hazelmere Junior School0.2 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Hazelmere Infant School and Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Friars Grove Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Roach Vale Primary School ranks 45th 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 year groups does Roach Vale Primary School teach?
- Roach Vale Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Roach Vale Primary School?
- The headteacher of Roach Vale Primary School is Miss Sophie Denyer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Roach Vale Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Roach Vale Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Roach Vale Primary School?
- Roach Vale Primary School has 177 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Roach Vale Primary School full?
- Roach Vale Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 177 on roll (84%), so it has space against 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 Roach Vale Primary School a faith school?
- No. Roach Vale Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Roach Vale Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Roach Vale Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Roach Vale Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 37% in 2022/23 and 57% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Roach Vale Primary School rank locally?
- Roach Vale Primary School ranked 269th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Roach Vale Primary School's absence rate?
- Roach Vale Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Roach Vale Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Roach Vale Primary School'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.