A successful secondary school’s catchment area has been found to be the fifth most competitive location for an outstanding school in England.

Mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages analysed population data from the ONS alongside the latest inspection reports from Ofsted to deduce which of England’s towns had the fiercest competition for places at outstanding schools.

When analysing places at secondary schools, Colchester was found to have the fifth most competitive catchment area in England with approximately 2,465 ten-year-old students potentially vying for 300 places at the Gilberd School.

The school at Highwoods has a role of approximately 1,350 and was rated as outstanding in its most recent inspection conducted by Ofsted in 2018.

It means, through no fault of its own, the Gilberd School is one of the least accessible outstanding schools for youngsters in the country.

Headed by Linda Exley, the Gilberd School received a glowing inspection report from Ofsted three years ago which could only give one bullet point for overall improvements to be made.

The report said the school should: “Build on current work to promote and strengthen opportunities for extended writing, for all pupils and particularly for boys, in subjects beyond English.”

Only four areas in England had more competitive catchment areas for an outstanding school – Hull, which topped the list, followed by Sunderland, Plymouth, and Peterborough in fourth.

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On the other end of the scale, Cambridge and Norwich were shown to have the most accessible outstanding state schools in England.

Statistics also show high demand for places at Colchester’s selective schools. Colchester Royal Grammar School is currently rated as inadequate after a damning Ofsted inspection but had 734 applications for 128 places, rising from 573 in 2020.

There were 893 applications for 192 places at Colchester County High School for Girls. Richard Hayes, chief executive officer and cofounder of Mojo Mortgages - which produced the findings - said although parents aim to send their children to the best schools possible, the reality for areas like Colchester is quite different.

He said: “We all want to give our children the access to the best possible education, and a place at an outstanding school is an obvious way to maximise chances of doing this.

“However, it’s clear that the opportunities to secure a place at one of these schools varies quite drastically across England.”

Full research on schools and catchment areas from Mogo Mortgages can be found here.