Kings Ford Academy
Gloucester Avenue, Shrub End, Colchester, CO2 9AZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INSPIRES MAT
- Headteacher
- Mrs Karen Jackson
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Connected Learning
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 152
- URN
- 142001
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206573807
About this school
Kings Ford Academy is a primary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 152 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Kings Ford Academy, 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 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
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 45 | 46 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 52% | 29% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 0% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 61% | 55% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 72% | 41% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 61% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.30 | - | - |
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 Kings Ford 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 | 44% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 29% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 195 |
| 2023/24 | 197 |
| 2024/25 | 169 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kings Ford Academy compares
Kings Ford Academy ranked 378th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29% | 6.7% | 36.7% | 152 | — |
| King's Ford Infant School and Nursery | — | 5.7% | 32.3% | 154 | 0.0 miles |
| Montgomery Primary School, Colchester | 67% | 3.7% | 25.9% | 608 | 0.5 miles |
| St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester | 56% | 5.7% | 28.5% | 228 | 0.5 miles |
| Gosbecks Primary School | 53% | 5.4% | 16.9% | 227 | 0.5 miles |
| Prettygate Junior School | 77% | 5% | 16.1% | 250 | 0.6 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.69%
- English as an additional language
- 20.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.67%
- Persistent absence
- 20.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King's Ford Infant School and Nursery0.0 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Montgomery Primary School, Colchester0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Gosbecks Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Prettygate Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Kings Ford Academy ranks 66th 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 Kings Ford Academy teach?
- Kings Ford Academy teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Kings Ford Academy?
- The headteacher of Kings Ford Academy is Mrs Karen Jackson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Kings Ford Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kings Ford 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 many pupils are at Kings Ford Academy?
- Kings Ford Academy has 152 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Kings Ford Academy full?
- Kings Ford Academy has capacity for 240 pupils and 152 on roll (63%), so it has space against 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 Kings Ford Academy a faith school?
- No. Kings Ford Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Kings Ford Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Kings Ford Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Kings Ford Academy part of an academy trust?
- Kings Ford Academy is part of INSPIRES MAT. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Kings Ford Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 29% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kings Ford Academy compare with other schools in Essex?
- Kings Ford Academy ranked 378th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kings Ford Academy's absence rate?
- Kings Ford Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kings Ford Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kings Ford 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 2 July 2026.