Colchester County High School for GirlsSt Helena School

Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Colchester.

Summary of the comparison

Colchester County High School for Girls and St Helena School are secondary schools in Colchester.

  • Colchester County High School for Girls scores 88 out of 100 (grade A, exceptional) and St Helena School scores 54 out of 100 (grade D, below average). Colchester County High School for Girls is ahead on our composite score.

  • Colchester County High School for Girls was judged Outstanding and St Helena School was judged Good.

  • On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 79.7 for Colchester County High School for Girls and 42.4 for St Helena School.

  • GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Colchester County High School for Girls (83.2 in 2021-22, 79.7 in 2025-26) and has fallen at St Helena School (46.1 in 2021-22, 42.4 in 2025-26).

Side-by-side comparison

Colchester County High School for Girls versus St Helena School compared on inspection, results, pupils and attendance.
Measure ColchesterColchester County High School for GirlsColchesterSt Helena SchoolEngland average
Overview
Our scoreA88/100Stronger figureD54/100
Local ranking2nd of 80 in Essex Stronger figure43rd of 80 in Essex
InspectionOfsted: OutstandingStronger figureOfsted: Good
School typeAcademy converter Academy converter
PhaseSecondary Secondary
Age range11-18 11-16
GenderGirls Mixed
Pupils on roll1,198 986
Capacity1,020 1,000
LocationColchester, CO3 3US Colchester, CO3 3LE
GCSE results
Attainment 879.7 Stronger figure42.4 46.2
Grade 5+ in English & maths98.4% Stronger figure36.0% 46.3%
Grade 4+ in English & maths100.0% Stronger figure56.3% 64.8%
Cohort190 197
A-level results
A-level entries125 Not reported
A-level average points45.3 Not reported35.0
A-level average gradeA- Not reported
Best 3 A-levels points45.1 Not reported35.8
AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects44.0% Not reported17.5%
Pupils
Pupils in the census1,210 987
Free school meals (ever 6)5.0% 31.3%
English as an additional language39.2% 19.0%
SEN support1.5% 14.2%
SEN with an EHC plan0.0% 2.5%
Attendance
Overall absence4.2% Stronger figure8.0% 6.2%
Persistent absence7.6% Stronger figure20.8% 15.8%

marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.

Historical trends

Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.

GCSE Attainment 8

GCSE Progress 8

Overall absence

Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)

Pupils on roll

Ethnicity over time

One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.

Colchester County High School for Girls

St Helena School

Full profiles: Colchester County High School for Girls · St Helena School