Colchester County High School for Girls
Norman Way, Colchester, CO3 3US
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ALPHA TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gillian Marshall
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- The Alpha Trust
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 1,198
- URN
- 137515
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206576973
About this school
Colchester County High School for Girls is a girls' secondary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,198 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 160 | 159 | 191 |
| Attainment 8 score | 80.5 | 80.8 | 80.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.99 +0.75 to +1.23 | +0.99 +0.75 to +1.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 99.4% | 100% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 89% | 84.3% | 91.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
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 County High School for Girls 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 | 80.5 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 80.8 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 80.6 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,149 |
| 2023/24 | 1,183 |
| 2024/25 | 1,210 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Colchester County High School for Girls compares
Colchester County High School for Girls ranked 4th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 100% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80.6 | 4.2% | 5% | 1,198 | — |
| St Benedict's Catholic College | 54.7 | 5.8% | 12.6% | 905 | 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)
- 5.01%
- English as an additional language
- 39.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.19%
- Persistent absence
- 7.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Benedict's Catholic College0.0 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
Colchester County High School for Girls ranks 2nd of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Colchester.
- Colchester Academy 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 Benedict's Catholic 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 Colchester County High School for Girls teach?
- Colchester County High School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Colchester County High School for Girls?
- The headteacher of Colchester County High School for Girls is Mrs Gillian Marshall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Colchester County High School for Girls last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Colchester County High School for Girls, 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 Colchester County High School for Girls?
- Colchester County High School for Girls has 1,198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Colchester County High School for Girls full?
- Colchester County High School for Girls has capacity for 1,020 pupils and 1,198 on roll (117%), 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 Colchester County High School for Girls a faith school?
- No. Colchester County High School for Girls has no designated religious character.
- Is Colchester County High School for Girls a selective school?
- Yes. Colchester County High School for Girls is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Colchester County High School for Girls?
- Colchester County High School for Girls is part of ALPHA TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Colchester County High School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 80.5 in 2022/23 and 80.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Colchester County High School for Girls rank locally?
- Colchester County High School for Girls ranked 4th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 100% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Colchester County High School for Girls's absence rate?
- Colchester County High School for Girls's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Colchester County High School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Colchester County High School for Girls'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 1 July 2026.