The Thomas Lord Audley School
Monkwick Avenue, Monkwick, Colchester, CO2 8NJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE SIGMA TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Essex
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Sigma Trust
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 840
- Pupils on roll
- 940
- URN
- 137937
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206547911
About this school
The Thomas Lord Audley School is a secondary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 940 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Thomas Lord Audley School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 26 March 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 | 166 | 165 | 167 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.8 | 40.5 | 42.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.36 -0.58 to -0.14 | -0.13 -0.35 to +0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 37.6% | 41.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 57% | 61.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 24.2% | 13.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 Thomas Lord Audley 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 | 38.8 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.5 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.3 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 876 |
| 2023/24 | 894 |
| 2024/25 | 921 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Thomas Lord Audley School compares
The Thomas Lord Audley School ranked 48th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.3 | 7.6% | 35.7% | 940 | — |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School | 82.1 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 1,073 | 1.4 miles |
| Paxman Academy | 41.3 | 8.2% | 32.6% | 873 | 1.5 miles |
| Philip Morant School and College | 44.5 | 7.7% | 26.3% | 1,888 | 1.6 miles |
| St Benedict's Catholic College | 54.7 | 5.8% | 12.6% | 905 | 1.6 miles |
| Colchester County High School for Girls | 80.6 | 4.2% | 5% | 1,198 | 1.6 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)
- 35.72%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.57%
- Persistent absence
- 20.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Colchester Royal Grammar School1.4 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Paxman Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Philip Morant School and College1.6 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
St Benedict's Catholic College1.6 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester County High School for Girls1.6 miles
Secondary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
The Thomas Lord Audley School ranks 11th 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 Gilberd School Secondary
- The Stanway School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Thomas Lord Audley School teach?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of The Thomas Lord Audley School?
- The headteacher of The Thomas Lord Audley School is Mr Simon Essex, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Thomas Lord Audley School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Thomas Lord Audley 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 many pupils are at The Thomas Lord Audley School?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School has 940 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Thomas Lord Audley School full?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School has capacity for 840 pupils and 940 on roll (112%), 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 The Thomas Lord Audley School a faith school?
- No. The Thomas Lord Audley School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Thomas Lord Audley School a selective school?
- No. The Thomas Lord Audley School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Thomas Lord Audley School part of an academy trust?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School is part of THE SIGMA TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Thomas Lord Audley School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.8 in 2022/23 and 42.3 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 Thomas Lord Audley School compare with other schools in Essex?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School ranked 48th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% 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 Thomas Lord Audley School's absence rate?
- The Thomas Lord Audley School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Thomas Lord Audley School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Thomas Lord Audley 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.