OFSTED
7 May 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
ALPHA TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
780
780 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
401
51.4% of pupils
Male pupils
379
48.6% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
8.5 pts
below England
School
16.3%
Colchester
19.5%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
7.7 pts
below England
School
12.6%
Colchester
14.2%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
2.7 pts
above England
School
3.7%
Colchester
1.4%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
66.2%
516
Any other White background
8.2%
64
African
5.0%
39
Any other Mixed background
4.0%
31
Indian
3.8%
30
Any other ethnic group
3.3%
26
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
13.0%
101 of
780 pupils
7.9 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
4.7 pts
below
England
6.0%
3.2 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
8.47%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.26 pts
higher than
England
School
8.47%
Colchester
5.99%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
20.06%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
4.25 pts
higher than
England
School
20.06%
Colchester
14.41%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
5.53%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
3.73 pts
higher than
England
School
5.53%
Colchester
1.90%
East of England
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
86.7%
5.7 pts
below England
The Trinity School
86.7%
Colchester
94.9%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.