RECOGNISED as one of the leading schools in the country for exam success, Colchester Royal Grammar School has been part of the town for more than 450 years.
The Lexden Road school was founded in 1206 and granted two Royal Charters, by Henry VIII in 1539 and by Elizabeth I in 1584.
The facility is a school for boys aged between 11 and 18 years old and started admitting girls into a co-educational sixth form in recent decades.
A boarding house designed for 30 sixth form students is also included for students.
According to the latest figures, the school has 398 sixth form students - 273 boys and 125 girls.
Timeline - the school's students in their top hats back in 1911
When were girls about to join the sixth form?
The school has admitted female students to the sixth form since 1998.
However, the school only admits a limited number of girls as students into the sixth form.
Offers of places are made subject to satisfactory performance at GCSE or equivalent examination.
The minimum requirement for entry into the sixth form is at least 38 points across the best five subjects.
- A* = 8.5 points, A = 7 points, B = 5.5 points, C = 4 points. Grades below a C are not considered.
Is there a uniform for sixth form students?
Girls wear a jacket of a formal style and skirt or trousers, or a suit.
If skirts or dresses are worn instead of trousers, they can be worn no higher than around knee length and formal in style.
Boys, on the other hand, wear a jacket and tie and are expected to be clean-shaven with hair no shorter than a number three cut.
Networking - Colchester Royal Grammar School students networking
What are the school's key values?
A statement from the headmaster John Russell said the school is founded on, and committed to, very traditional value.
He said: "We combine this with a forward-thinking and modern approach to education.
"This is a unique combination which leads to the outstanding success that the school has become famous for – we are preparing all our students for their very bright futures and producing the next generation of leaders for our country."
Exceptional - the school has been rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted
How has Ofsted rated the school?
Education watchdog Ofsted has rated the school as 'outstanding'.
Ofsted said: "The school justifiably considers the sixth form its flagship, and it provides an outstanding standard of education.
"Standards are exceptionally high and students achieve extremely well."
How highly ranked is the school?
The school was named secondary school of the decade in East Anglia last year.
It received the accolade as part of the Sunday Times schools guide for 2020.
The 28th edition of the guide, Parent Power, identifies the 2,000 highest-achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their most recently published examination results.
Colchester Royal Grammar School has been in The Sunday Times top 10 seven times in the past ten years and is regularly the highest ranked school in Essex.
Last year a total of 39 pupils were offered places at Oxford and Cambridge.
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