Which school has the best GCSE results in Colchester?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Colchester Royal Grammar School tops the table in Colchester with 80.9, against an England average of 46.2. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Colchester schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2026 results, the 2025/26 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

Why does a school in Colchester show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Colchester GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

15 state secondary schools in Colchester ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, cohort size for each school against the England average. 3 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Town 15 state secondary schools 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Colchester ranked on Attainment 8

15 of 15 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Colchester ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1	Colchester Royal Grammar School Colchester · Academy converter	80.9	82%	98%	100%	–	128
2	Colchester County High School for Girls Colchester · Academy converter	79.7	83%	98%	100%	–	190
3	St Benedict's Catholic College Colchester · Voluntary aided school	58.4	20%	76%	88%	–	181
4	The Gilberd School Colchester · Academy converter	49.9	14%	50%	71%	–	296
5 , up 1 place since 2025	East Bergholt High School Colchester · Academy converter	49.8	11%	53%	73%	–	183
6	The Trinity School Colchester · Free schools	49.6	13%	57%	76%	–	122
7 , down 2 places since 2025	The Stanway School Colchester · Academy converter	48.3	9%	52%	74%	–	279
8 , up 4 places since 2025	Thurstable School Colchester · Academy converter	46.5	12%	52%	68%	–	202
9	Philip Morant School and College Colchester · Academy converter	45.6	10%	48%	65%	–	314
10 , down 3 places since 2025	Honywood School Colchester · Academy converter	45.1	10%	37%	66%	–	155
11= , up 2 places since 2025	Paxman Academy Colchester · Free schools	42.4	9%	36%	58%	–	173
11= , down 3 places since 2025	St Helena School Colchester · Academy converter	42.4	5%	36%	56%	–	197
13 , down 3 places since 2025	Colne Community School Colchester · Academy converter	42.3	8%	41%	60%	–	235
14 , down 3 places since 2025	The Thomas Lord Audley School Colchester · Academy converter	41.2	9%	35%	51%	–	171
15 , down 1 place since 2025	Colchester Academy Colchester · Academy sponsor led	35.3	5%	26%	43%	–	177

Schools with the same Attainment 8 score share a rank (shown as "=").

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

Independent schools in Colchester with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Colchester Prep & High School Colchester · Other independent school	61.8	73%	33
Holmwood House School Colchester · Other independent school	51.0	86%	7
St Mary's School for Girls Colchester · Other independent school	60.9	73%	56

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Colchester on our composite score

Colchester GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Colchester ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Colchester with published GCSE results

More about schools in Colchester

Colchester GCSE results: common questions