Schools by area › Essex › St James the Great Church of England Primary School
St James the Great Church of England Primary School
Primary · Mixed · Ages 2–11 · Sponsored academy
Guildford Road, Colchester CO1 2RA · st-james-colchester-essex.co.uk · 01206 865747
Overview
- Ofsted
- Good
- 2019 framework · inspected Sept 2019
- Key stage 2, 2024/25
- 48%
- reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Essex 63%, England 62%
- Last distance offered
- No limit
- Reception, September 2025 entry · Essex Council
- Demand for places
- 0.8
- first choices for each place · Reception, September 2026
- Pupils
- 438
- 18 over 420 places · 104%
- Local authority
- Essex
- Nursery class
- Yes
- Free school meals
- 22.7%
- First language not English
- 31.1%
- School census 2025/26
The official school record (Department for Education)
Admissions
For Reception in September 2025, everyone who applied was offered a place. Source: Essex Council’s document.
For Reception in September 2026, 48 families put the school first and 57 places were offered; 100% of those families were offered a place there. Admission depends on the school’s own rules.
First choices against places
| Reception | Places | First choices | Per place | % offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026Sept 2026 | 57 | 48 | 0.8 | 100% |
| September 2025Sept 2025 | 35 | 28 | 0.8 | 100% |
| September 2024Sept 2024 | 37 | 31 | 0.8 | 100% |
| September 2023Sept 2023 | 51 | 39 | 0.8 | 100% |
| September 2022Sept 2022 | 56 | 47 | 0.8 | 100% |
Results
In 2024/25, 48% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2, and 8% the higher standard. Across Essex it was 63%, and across England 62%.
Expected standard reading, writing and maths
| 2024/25 | Trend | School | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading, writing and maths | |||
| ▼48% | 62% | ||
| ●8% | 8% | ||
| Average scaled score | |||
| ●107 | 106 | ||
| ●103 | 105 | ||
| ●105 | 105 | ||
Some years are for the predecessor school (URN 115131)
Ofsted
St James the Great Church of England Primary School was judged Good at its last graded inspection, on 18 September 2019, under Ofsted’s 2019 framework. An ungraded inspection in Jan 2025 found: Standards maintained.
- Outcome
- Standards maintained
- Inspected
- 14 Jan 2025
- Ungraded inspection
Safeguarding effectiveInspection reports
Previously: Good, graded inspection, Sept 2019
Earlier inspections
Including inspections of the predecessor school (URN 115131), which Ofsted links to this one.
September 2019 to November 2025
Sept 2019Good
Quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years Good Safeguarding Effective
Before September 2019
Jan 2016Inadequate
Leadership and management Inadequate Early years Requires improvement Safeguarding Effective Inspection of the predecessor school (URN 115131)
What parents said
57% of the parents who answered Ofsted’s Parent View survey would recommend the school (28 replies, to 1 September 2025).
- Recommend
- 57%
- Replies
- 28
- 6% · 1 Sept 2025
based on the 75% who raised concerns
based on the 54% who had a child bullied
based on 10 parents (36%) with SEND