The Gilberd School
Brinkley Lane, Colchester, CO4 9PU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ALPHA TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Mitchell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Alpha Trust
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,600
- Pupils on roll
- 1,588
- URN
- 137926
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206842211
About this school
The Gilberd School is a secondary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,588 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 February 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 327 | 313 | 306 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.7 | 51.5 | 53.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.33 +0.17 to +0.49 | +0.44 +0.28 to +0.60 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 54.6% | 58.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 75.4% | 77.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 24.9% | 31.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
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 The Gilberd 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 | 49.7 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.5 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.4 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,556 |
| 2023/24 | 1,565 |
| 2024/25 | 1,574 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Gilberd School compares
The Gilberd School ranked 13th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.4 | 7.1% | 16.3% | 1,588 | — |
| The Trinity School | — | 8.5% | 17.1% | 780 | 0.0 miles |
| Colchester Academy | 38.5 | 13.9% | 44.1% | 879 | 1.7 miles |
| St Helena School | 46 | 8% | 31.3% | 986 | 1.9 miles |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School | 82.1 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 1,073 | 2.4 miles |
| St Benedict's Catholic College | 54.7 | 5.8% | 12.6% | 905 | 2.8 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)
- 16.26%
- English as an additional language
- 12.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.09%
- Persistent absence
- 15.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Trinity School0.0 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
St Helena School1.9 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester Royal Grammar School2.4 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
St Benedict's Catholic College2.8 miles
Secondary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
The Gilberd School ranks 4th 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 Benedict's Catholic College Secondary
- St Helena School Secondary
- The Stanway School Secondary
- The Thomas Lord Audley School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Gilberd School teach?
- The Gilberd School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of The Gilberd School?
- The headteacher of The Gilberd School is Mr James Mitchell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Gilberd School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Gilberd 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 The Gilberd School?
- The Gilberd School has 1,588 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Gilberd School full?
- The Gilberd School has capacity for 1,600 pupils and 1,588 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Gilberd School a faith school?
- No. The Gilberd School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Gilberd School a selective school?
- No. The Gilberd School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Gilberd School?
- The Gilberd School 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 The Gilberd School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.7 in 2022/23 and 53.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Gilberd School rank locally?
- The Gilberd School ranked 13th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Gilberd School's absence rate?
- The Gilberd School's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Gilberd School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Gilberd 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 1 July 2026.