Philip Morant School and College
Rembrandt Way, Colchester, CO3 4QS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SIGMA TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Stephanie Neill
- Sponsor
- The Sigma Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,902
- Pupils on roll
- 1,888
- URN
- 146794
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206545222
About this school
Philip Morant School and College is a secondary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,888 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 317 | 263 | 313 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.9 | 45.6 | 44.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.24 -0.40 to -0.08 | -0.13 -0.31 to +0.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 47.5% | 36.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 66.5% | 60.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 46.8% | 51.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
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 Philip Morant School and College 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 | 45.9 | 43.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.6 | 41.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.5 | 42.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,733 |
| 2023/24 | 1,715 |
| 2024/25 | 1,828 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Philip Morant School and College compares
Philip Morant School and College ranked 40th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.5 | 7.7% | 26.3% | 1,888 | — |
| St Benedict's Catholic College | 54.7 | 5.8% | 12.6% | 905 | 0.3 miles |
| Colchester County High School for Girls | 80.6 | 4.2% | 5% | 1,198 | 0.3 miles |
| Paxman Academy | 41.3 | 8.2% | 32.6% | 873 | 0.6 miles |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School | 82.1 | 5.4% | 6.6% | 1,073 | 0.7 miles |
| St Helena School | 46 | 8% | 31.3% | 986 | 1.2 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)
- 26.27%
- English as an additional language
- 12.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.67%
- Persistent absence
- 19.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Benedict's Catholic College0.3 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester County High School for Girls0.3 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Paxman Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
Colchester Royal Grammar School0.7 miles
Secondary · Colchester
-
St Helena School1.2 miles
Secondary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Philip Morant School and College ranks 9th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Colchester.
- Colchester Academy Secondary
- Colchester County High School for Girls Secondary
- Colchester Royal Grammar School Secondary
- Colne Community School Secondary
- East Bergholt High School Secondary
- Honywood School Secondary
- Paxman Academy Secondary
- St Benedict's Catholic College Secondary
- St Helena School Secondary
- The Gilberd School Secondary
- The Stanway School Secondary
- The Thomas Lord Audley School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Philip Morant School and College teach?
- Philip Morant School and College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Philip Morant School and College?
- The headteacher of Philip Morant School and College is Mrs Stephanie Neill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Philip Morant School and College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Philip Morant School and College, 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 Philip Morant School and College?
- Philip Morant School and College has 1,888 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Philip Morant School and College full?
- Philip Morant School and College has capacity for 1,902 pupils and 1,888 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Philip Morant School and College a faith school?
- No. Philip Morant School and College has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Philip Morant School and College?
- Philip Morant School and College is part of THE SIGMA TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Philip Morant School and College have?
- The schools register lists Philip Morant School and College's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Philip Morant School and College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.9 in 2022/23 and 44.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Philip Morant School and College rank locally?
- Philip Morant School and College ranked 40th of 78 secondary schools in Essex for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Philip Morant School and College's absence rate?
- Philip Morant School and College's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Philip Morant School and College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Philip Morant School and College'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.