Colchester Prep & High School
Wellesley Road, Colchester, CO3 3HD
- Phase
- Independent schools
- School type
- Other independent school
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Principal
- Ms Karen Gracie-Langrick
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- Church of England
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 558
- Pupils on roll
- 280
- URN
- 115409
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206573389
About this school
Colchester Prep & High School is an independent school in Colchester. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 280 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has not yet inspected Colchester Prep & High School under its current framework. 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
Colchester Prep & High School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in January 1953, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 55 | 37 | 43 |
| Attainment 8 score | 61.0 | 57.6 | 61.0 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 80% | 75.7% | 65.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 89% | 91.9% | 93% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 40% | 24.3% | 25.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 |
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 Colchester Prep & High 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 | 61 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.6 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 61 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 299 |
| 2023/24 | 287 |
| 2024/25 | 281 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 0%
- Pupils with an EHC plan
- 1
- Pupils on SEN support
- 76
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingswode Hoe School0.5 miles
Academies · Colchester
-
St Mary's School for Girls0.5 miles
Independent schools · Colchester
-
North East Essex Co-operative Academy1.9 miles
Academies · Colchester
-
Holmwood House School2.0 miles
Independent schools · Colchester
-
Lexden Springs School2.1 miles
Academies · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
- Holmwood House School Independent schools
- Littlegarth School Independent schools
- OneSchool Global UK Colchester Campus Independent schools
- St Mary's School for Girls Independent schools
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Colchester Prep & High School teach?
- Colchester Prep & High School teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is an independent school in Colchester.
- Who is the principal of Colchester Prep & High School?
- The principal of Colchester Prep & High School is Ms Karen Gracie-Langrick, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Colchester Prep & High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected Colchester Prep & High School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How big is Colchester Prep & High School?
- Colchester Prep & High School has 280 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is Colchester Prep & High School full?
- Colchester Prep & High School has capacity for 558 pupils and 280 on roll (50%), 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 Colchester Prep & High School a faith school?
- No. Colchester Prep & High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Colchester Prep & High School a selective school?
- No. Colchester Prep & High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Colchester Prep & High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 61 in 2022/23 and 61 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are Colchester Prep & High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Colchester Prep & High 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 24 July 2026.