OFSTED
20 May 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
3 November 2021
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published
16 January 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
THURSTABLE SCHOOL
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
932
932 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
474
50.9% of pupils
Male pupils
458
49.1% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
6.3 pts
below England
School
18.5%
Colchester
19.5%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
17.6 pts
below England
School
2.7%
Colchester
14.2%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.9 pts
below England
School
0.1%
Colchester
1.4%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
91.5%
853
Any other White background
2.1%
20
Any other Mixed background
1.6%
15
White and Asian
1.2%
11
White and Black African
1.2%
11
White and Black Caribbean
1.1%
10
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
19.4%
181 of
932 pupils
1.4 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
1.4 pts
above
England
6.0%
2.8 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.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
41.9
2.7 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.19 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
9.19%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.97 pts
higher than
England
School
9.19%
Colchester
5.99%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
24.17%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
8.36 pts
higher than
England
School
24.17%
Colchester
14.41%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
5.63%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
3.83 pts
higher than
England
School
5.63%
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
73.1%
19.2 pts
below England
Thurstable School
73.1%
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.