Lift Columbus
Oliver Way, Chelmsford, CM1 4ZB
This school is open but due to close.
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LIFT SCHOOLS
- Acting Principal
- Ms Michelle Hughes
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lift Schools
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Chelmsford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 285
- URN
- 138122
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245491492
About this school
Lift Columbus is a special academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 285 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Lift Columbus, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Sixth form
- Inadequate
- Safeguarding
- Not effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: serious weaknesses.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 29 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 18 | 13 | 14 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Lift Columbus 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 | 0% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 275 |
| 2023/24 | 283 |
| 2024/25 | 286 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 35.34%
- English as an additional language
- 8.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.84%
- Persistent absence
- 29.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Hawthorns School0.7 miles
Free Schools · Chelmsford
-
The Sir Geoff Hurst Academy0.8 miles
Free Schools · Chelmsford
-
High Trees0.8 miles
Special schools · London
-
Anglia Ruskin University1.0 miles
Universities · Chelmsford
-
Chelmsford Hospital School1.4 miles
Independent schools · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
- Clarity Independent School Special schools
- Community College Initiative Ltd Other types
- The Hawthorns School Free Schools
- The Sir Geoff Hurst Academy Free Schools
- Thriftwood School Academies
- Tanglewood Nursery School Nursery
- Woodcroft Nursery School Nursery
- Baddow Hall Infant School Primary
- Baddow Hall Junior School Primary
- Barnes Farm Primary School Primary
- Beehive Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Boreham Primary School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- Status changed from open to open_proposed_to_close recorded 10 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Lift Columbus teach?
- Lift Columbus teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the acting principal of Lift Columbus?
- The acting principal of Lift Columbus is Ms Michelle Hughes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Lift Columbus been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lift Columbus, 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 Lift Columbus?
- Lift Columbus has 285 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Lift Columbus a faith school?
- No. Lift Columbus has no designated religious character.
- Is Lift Columbus part of an academy trust?
- Lift Columbus is part of LIFT SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Lift Columbus have?
- The schools register lists Lift Columbus's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Lift Columbus's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Lift Columbus's absence rate?
- Lift Columbus's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lift Columbus's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lift Columbus'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 10 July 2026.