Mersea Island School
Barfield Road, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8QX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Tania Wright
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Harwich and North Essex
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 468
- Pupils on roll
- 394
- URN
- 115311
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206382736
About this school
Mersea Island School is a foundation primary school in Colchester. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 394 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- 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 | 64 | 49 | 50 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 59% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 8% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 76% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 63% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Mersea Island 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 | 58% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 402 |
| 2023/24 | 390 |
| 2024/25 | 393 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Mersea Island School compares
Mersea Island School ranked 272nd of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 4% | 19.6% | 394 | — |
| St Cedd's Church of England Primary School | 38% | 6% | 14.4% | 120 | 3.7 miles |
| Tollesbury School | 72% | 4.8% | 15.3% | 169 | 3.8 miles |
| Langenhoe Community Primary School | 78% | 4.3% | 17.7% | 104 | 3.8 miles |
| Fingringhoe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 54% | 4.6% | 23.5% | 96 | 4.8 miles |
| Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery | 69% | 5.8% | 21.5% | 653 | 5.1 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)
- 19.56%
- English as an additional language
- 1.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.97%
- Persistent absence
- 10.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Cedd's Church of England Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Southminster
-
Tollesbury School3.8 miles
Primary · Maldon
-
Langenhoe Community Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Fingringhoe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School4.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery5.1 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Mersea Island School ranks 46th 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 Mersea Island School teach?
- Mersea Island School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Mersea Island School?
- The headteacher of Mersea Island School is Mrs Tania Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Mersea Island School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mersea Island 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 Mersea Island School?
- Mersea Island School has 394 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Mersea Island School full?
- Mersea Island School has capacity for 468 pupils and 394 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 Mersea Island School a faith school?
- No. Mersea Island School has no designated religious character.
- Does Mersea Island School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Mersea Island School as having nursery classes.
- How have Mersea Island School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Mersea Island School rank locally?
- Mersea Island School ranked 272nd of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Mersea Island School's absence rate?
- Mersea Island School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mersea Island School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mersea Island 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.