Unity Primary Academy
Hickory Avenue, Greenstead, Colchester, CO4 3QJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Pieter Labuschagne
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- REAch2 Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 432
- URN
- 141113
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206864226
About this school
Unity Primary Academy is a primary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 432 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 61 | 55 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 36% | 62% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 4% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 51% | 71% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 43% | 73% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 44% | 64% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.70 | - | - |
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 Unity Primary Academy 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 | 36% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 427 |
| 2023/24 | 458 |
| 2024/25 | 449 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Unity Primary Academy compares
Unity Primary Academy ranked 151st of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 6.9% | 50.6% | 432 | — |
| Hazelmere Junior School | 38% | 7.4% | 46.8% | 229 | 0.5 miles |
| Hazelmere Infant School and Nursery | — | 6.4% | 32.8% | 156 | 0.5 miles |
| Roach Vale Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 39.1% | 177 | 0.7 miles |
| Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery | 50% | 7.7% | 38.5% | 186 | 0.8 miles |
| Parsons Heath Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 47% | 5.4% | 42.6% | 197 | 0.8 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)
- 50.6%
- English as an additional language
- 35.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.85%
- Persistent absence
- 23.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hazelmere Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Hazelmere Infant School and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Roach Vale Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Parsons Heath Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Unity Primary Academy ranks 24th 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 Unity Primary Academy teach?
- Unity Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Unity Primary Academy?
- The executive headteacher of Unity Primary Academy is Mr Pieter Labuschagne, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Unity Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Unity Primary Academy, 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 Unity Primary Academy?
- Unity Primary Academy has 432 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Unity Primary Academy full?
- Unity Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 432 on roll (103%), 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 Unity Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Unity Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Unity Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Unity Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Unity Primary Academy?
- Unity Primary Academy is part of REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Unity Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 36% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Unity Primary Academy rank locally?
- Unity Primary Academy ranked 151st of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Unity Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Unity Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Unity Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Unity Primary Academy'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.