St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester
Priory Street, Colchester, CO1 2QB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Catholic
- Trust
- THE ROSARY TRUST - A CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY
- Headteacher
- Mrs Bridget Harris
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Sponsor
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 209
- URN
- 138164
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206865722
About this school
St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester is a Catholic primary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 209 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester, 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
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
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 27 | 29 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 93% | 100% | 93% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 21% | 23% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 100% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 96% | 100% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 89% | 100% | 97% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 112.0 | 113.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 111.0 | 114.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester 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 | 93% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 100% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 93% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 207 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 205 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester compares
St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester ranked 7th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 93% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 209 | — |
| St James the Great Church of England Primary School | 48% | 5.9% | 27% | 438 | 0.2 miles |
| St John's Green Primary School | 61% | 4.7% | 22.5% | 591 | 0.5 miles |
| St. George's School | 56% | 7.9% | 37.1% | 609 | 0.7 miles |
| North Primary School and Nursery | 47% | 5.1% | 21.7% | 458 | 0.7 miles |
| Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery | 50% | 7.7% | 38.5% | 186 | 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)
- 4.39%
- English as an additional language
- 35.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.63%
- Persistent absence
- 8.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James the Great Church of England Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St John's Green Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St. George's School0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
North Primary School and Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester ranks 1st of the 66 ranked primary schools in Colchester.
- 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
- Broomgrove Infant School Primary
- Broomgrove Junior School Primary
- Camulos Academy Primary
- Chappel CofE Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester teach?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester?
- The headteacher of St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester is Mrs Bridget Harris, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester, 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 St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester has 209 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester full?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester has capacity for 210 pupils and 209 on roll (100%), 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 St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester is designated Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Does St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester part of an academy trust?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester is part of THE ROSARY TRUST - A CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 93% in 2022/23 and 93% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester compare with other schools in Essex?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester ranked 7th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester's absence rate?
- St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School, Colchester'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.