In recent weeks councils in Essex sent out secondary school offers to parents and carers across the region for the start of the next school year.

Since finding out if your chosen school was confirmed for your child, you might be wondering what the latest Ofsted report rated it.

We have put together a list of secondary schools in Colchester according to their Ofsted rating from outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.

Outstanding

  • Colchester High School for Girls – last report January 2009, became academy in 2012
  • Gilberd School – last report January 2019

Good

  • St Helena – late report January 2018
  • Kingswode Hoe School – last report September 2014, become academy in 2017
  • St Benedict’s Catholic College – last report March 2018
  • Colchester Academy – last report May 2023
  • Thomas Lord Audley – last report March 2020
  • Lexden Springs School – last report January 2020
  • Stanway School – last report May 2017
  • Doucecroft School – last report September 2022

Requires improvement

None

Inadequate

  • Colchester Royal Grammar School – last report March 2022, became academy in 2023
  • Philip Morant School – last report October 2018, became academy in 2018

*The Trinity School, which opened to pupils last year on the Gilberd site, has not yet been inspected

They inspect services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

They also inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people.

In recent weeks Ofsted has come under scrutiny for its inspections.

An Ofsted spokesman has said: “Our inspections are first and foremost for children and their parents, looking in depth at the quality of education, behaviour, and how well and safely schools are run.

“We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are.”

You can also visit the Ofsted website to find out more about the services they provide in education.