Highwoods Community Primary School
Tynedale Square, Highwoods, Colchester, CO4 9SN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HIGHWOODS COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Disley
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 453
- URN
- 139462
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206845887
About this school
Highwoods Community Primary School is a primary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 453 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 64 | 62 | 63 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 81% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 26% | 24% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 89% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 89% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 90% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.50 | - | - |
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 Highwoods Community Primary 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 | 73% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 427 |
| 2023/24 | 427 |
| 2024/25 | 447 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Highwoods Community Primary School compares
Highwoods Community Primary School ranked 57th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 4.3% | 18.6% | 453 | — |
| Brinkley Grove Primary School | 76% | 6.6% | 26.8% | 403 | 0.4 miles |
| St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester | 72% | 3.7% | 11.4% | 210 | 0.5 miles |
| Friars Grove Primary School | 59% | 5.2% | 20.1% | 408 | 0.7 miles |
| Queen Boudica Primary School | 66% | 4.6% | 17.2% | 408 | 0.8 miles |
| Camulos Academy | 80% | 4% | 17.7% | 406 | 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)
- 18.57%
- English as an additional language
- 21%
- Overall absence
- 4.34%
- Persistent absence
- 7.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brinkley Grove Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Colchester0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Friars Grove Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Queen Boudica Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Camulos Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Highwoods Community Primary School ranks 8th 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 year groups does Highwoods Community Primary School teach?
- Highwoods Community Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Highwoods Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Highwoods Community Primary School is Mr Paul Disley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Highwoods Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highwoods Community Primary 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 Highwoods Community Primary School?
- Highwoods Community Primary School has 453 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Highwoods Community Primary School full?
- Highwoods Community Primary School has capacity for 450 pupils and 453 on roll (101%), 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 Highwoods Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Highwoods Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Highwoods Community Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Highwoods Community Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Highwoods Community Primary School?
- Highwoods Community Primary School is part of HIGHWOODS COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Highwoods Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Highwoods Community Primary School rank locally?
- Highwoods Community Primary School ranked 57th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Highwoods Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Highwoods Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highwoods Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highwoods Community Primary 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.