Colchester County High School for Girls

About Colchester County High School for Girls

Colchester County High School for Girls sits in the Essex local authority, where it ranks fourth out of 86 same-type schools by Progress 8 score. That puts it among the highest-performing state secondaries in the county, though it is not the absolute top — the three schools ahead of it are King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, Colchester Royal Grammar School, and Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School. Within the town of Colchester itself, the school ranks second out of ten schools, and its nearest Outstanding-rated neighbour is The Gilberd School, about 4.5 km away. The school is a selective girls’ grammar with no religious character, and it has been graded Outstanding in every category of its most recent Ofsted inspection, which took place in November 2023. That inspection gave top marks across the board: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision were all rated Outstanding. The school’s previous inspection, in 2009, also awarded an Outstanding overall, so it has held that standard consistently.

Academically, the school’s results are well above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.99 means pupils here achieve nearly one grade higher per subject than students with similar starting points nationally, and that is a long way above the Essex LA average of -0.18. At GCSE, 100 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, and 84.3 per cent entered the English Baccalaureate. The Attainment 8 score sits at 80.8, and the EBacc average point score is 7.76. At A-level, the picture is more mixed: the school’s value-added score is -0.41, which is rated as below average, and the average points per entry is 37.54, equivalent to a B- grade. However, 28.3 per cent of entries achieved at least an AAB in two facilitating subjects. The sixth form is large, with 127 pupils in the data, and the school has a dedicated Sixth Form Centre.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 735 applications for 192 places, an oversubscription ratio of 3.83, and 318 of those applications were first preferences. Facilities include a theatre, library, ICT suite, music rooms, and playing fields, and the sports programme covers football, rugby, cricket, rowing, netball, and swimming, among others. There are clubs for debate, chess, coding, orchestra, science, art, book club, drama, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The school’s SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, hearing impairment, and social, emotional and mental health needs. With only 2.7 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is less diverse economically than many local schools. This is a school for academically driven girls who thrive in a selective, high-expectation environment and are likely to aim for strong GCSEs and a competitive university application, though families should be aware that A-level value-added is below average.

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