Great Bentley Primary School
Plough Road, Great Bentley, Colchester, CO7 8LD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PENROSE LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Skillern
- Constituency
- Clacton
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 270
- Pupils on roll
- 258
- URN
- 149967
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01206250331
About this school
Great Bentley Primary School is a primary academy in Colchester. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 258 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 3 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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.
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Great Bentley Primary School (URN 114736).
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 |
Trends over time
How Great Bentley 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 | — | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 215 |
| 2024/25 | 244 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Great Bentley Primary School compares
Great Bentley Primary School ranked 236th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 4.5% | 11.5% | 258 | — |
| Weeley St Andrew's CofE Primary School | 29% | 8.4% | 36.8% | 179 | 2.2 miles |
| Alresford Primary School | 58% | 5.1% | 18.8% | 216 | 2.8 miles |
| Tendring Primary School | 62% | 5.7% | 13% | 208 | 3.0 miles |
| Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery | 69% | 5.8% | 21.5% | 653 | 3.3 miles |
| St George's Church of England Primary School, Great Bromley | 47% | 5.7% | 7.2% | 110 | 3.4 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)
- 11.48%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.45%
- Persistent absence
- 10.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Weeley St Andrew's CofE Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Clacton-On-Sea
-
Alresford Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
Tendring Primary School3.0 miles
Primary · Clacton-on-Sea
-
Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery3.3 miles
Primary · Colchester
-
St George's Church of England Primary School, Great Bromley3.4 miles
Primary · Colchester
Other schools in Colchester
Great Bentley Primary School ranks 38th 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 Great Bentley Primary School teach?
- Great Bentley Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Colchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Great Bentley Primary School?
- The headteacher of Great Bentley Primary School is Mrs Sarah Skillern, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Great Bentley Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Great Bentley 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 Great Bentley Primary School?
- Great Bentley Primary School has 258 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Great Bentley Primary School full?
- Great Bentley Primary School has capacity for 270 pupils and 258 on roll (96%), 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 Great Bentley Primary School a faith school?
- No. Great Bentley Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Great Bentley Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Great Bentley Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Great Bentley Primary School?
- Great Bentley Primary School is part of PENROSE LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Great Bentley Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2023/24 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Great Bentley Primary School rank locally?
- Great Bentley Primary School ranked 236th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Great Bentley Primary School's absence rate?
- Great Bentley Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Great Bentley Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Great Bentley 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 3 July 2026.