OFSTED
6 February 2024
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
THE SIGMA TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
873
873 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
411
47.1% of pupils
Male pupils
462
52.9% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
8.5 pts
above England
School
33.3%
Colchester
19.5%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
5.9 pts
below England
School
14.4%
Colchester
14.2%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
2.4 pts
above England
School
3.4%
Colchester
1.4%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
66.8%
583
African
6.5%
57
Any other White background
6.5%
57
Any other Asian background
4.1%
36
Any other Mixed background
3.1%
27
Any other ethnic group
2.5%
22
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
16.3%
142 of
873 pupils
4.6 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
2.5 pts
below
England
6.0%
2.0 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
41.3
2.1 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.17 · 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
8.22%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.00 pts
higher than
England
School
8.22%
Colchester
5.99%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
21.82%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
6.01 pts
higher than
England
School
21.82%
Colchester
14.41%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
4.45%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
2.65 pts
higher than
England
School
4.45%
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
97.0%
4.7 pts
above England
Paxman Academy
97.0%
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.