St Benedict's Catholic College
Norman Way, Colchester, CO3 3US
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs J E Santinelli
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 876
- Pupils on roll
- 905
- URN
- 115382
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206549222
About this school
St Benedict's Catholic College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Colchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 905 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 19 July 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 176 | 179 | 180 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.1 | 53.5 | 54.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.39 +0.18 to +0.60 | +0.23 +0.02 to +0.44 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 60.9% | 61.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 84% | 81.6% | 81.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 50% | 46.4% | 45% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Benedict's Catholic College 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 | 54.1 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.5 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.7 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 887 |
| 2023/24 | 898 |
| 2024/25 | 891 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Benedict's Catholic College compares
St Benedict's Catholic College ranked 12th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.7 | 5.8% | 12.6% | 905 | — |
| Colchester County High School for Girls | 80.6 | 4.2% | 5% | 1,198 | 0.0 miles |
| Philip Morant School and College | 44.5 | 7.7% | 26.3% | 1,888 | 0.3 miles |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School | 82.1 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 1,073 | 0.5 miles |
| St Helena School | 46 | 8% | 31.3% | 986 | 0.9 miles |
| Paxman Academy | 41.3 | 8.2% | 32.6% | 873 | 0.9 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)
- 12.57%
- English as an additional language
- 16.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.81%
- Persistent absence
- 15.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Colchester County High School for Girls0.0 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Philip Morant School and College0.3 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester Royal Grammar School0.5 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
St Helena School0.9 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Paxman Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
St Benedict's Catholic College ranks 3rd of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Colchester.
- Colchester Academy Secondary
- Colchester County High School for Girls Secondary
- Colchester Royal Grammar School Secondary
- Colne Community School Secondary
- East Bergholt High School Secondary
- Honywood School Secondary
- Paxman Academy Secondary
- Philip Morant School and College Secondary
- St Helena School Secondary
- The Gilberd School Secondary
- The Stanway School Secondary
- The Thomas Lord Audley School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Benedict's Catholic College teach?
- St Benedict's Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Benedict's Catholic College?
- The headteacher of St Benedict's Catholic College is Mrs J E Santinelli, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Benedict's Catholic College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Benedict's Catholic College, 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 St Benedict's Catholic College?
- St Benedict's Catholic College has 905 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Benedict's Catholic College full?
- St Benedict's Catholic College has capacity for 876 pupils and 905 on roll (103%), 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 St Benedict's Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. St Benedict's Catholic College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Is St Benedict's Catholic College a selective school?
- No. St Benedict's Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Benedict's Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.1 in 2022/23 and 54.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Benedict's Catholic College rank locally?
- St Benedict's Catholic College ranked 12th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Benedict's Catholic College's absence rate?
- St Benedict's Catholic College's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Benedict's Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Benedict's Catholic College'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.