England · Grammar school
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester · Boys only · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 149899)
Overview
- Address
- Lexden Road, Colchester, CO3 3ND
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Boys only
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,073
- Capacity
- 777
- Eligible for free school meals
- 4.7%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Local authority
- Essex
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Partially selective area4% of Year 7 places offered in Essex for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Not yet available
- Qualifying score
- Not yet available
- Catchment area
- No catchment or priority area. Boys from anywhere can be offered a place; places go in order of score in the CSSE 11+ test.
- Children from outside the catchment
- Yes: There is no catchment, so where a boy lives does not matter. Up to 12 places go first to looked-after or previously looked-after boys and boys eligible for pupil premium who score above 320; all other places go to the highest scorers who name the school.
Past offers: lowest score and furthest distance
| Intake | Applicant group | Lowest score offered | Last distance offered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2026) for September 2026 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 346 | – | csse.org.uk |
| Sept 2025 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2025) for September 2025 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 343 | – | csse.org.uk |
| Sept 2024 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2024) for September 2024 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 337 | – | csse.org.uk |
| Sept 2023 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2023) for September 2023 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 340 | – | csse.org.uk |
| Sept 2022 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2022) for September 2022 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 338 | – | csse.org.uk |
| Sept 2021 | AllScore of the last selective place offered on national offer day (1 March 2021) for September 2021 entry, from the CSSE results sheet. CSSE makes no offers below 303. The school had no priority area that year. | 342 | – | csse.org.uk |
From published allocation data found in desk research (checked 1 November 2026); not yet confirmed with the school. Scores from different tests or years are not comparable, and a past cut-off does not guarantee a future place.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 804 applicants named this school (280 as their first choice) for 128 places. 56 of 128 offers went to children living outside Essex.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Essex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 128 | 804 | 280 | 2.2 | 56 |
| Sept 2025 | 124 | 780 | 274 | 2.2 | 49 |
| Sept 2024 | 125 | 631 | 226 | 1.8 | 59 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Essex" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (essex.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (CSSE (Essex and Southend))
- 12 May 2026 to 19 June 2026
- Test date
- 19 September 2026, 29 September 2026Main test 19 Sep; reserve Tuesday sitting 29 Sep for religious, illness or exceptional circumstances only. Late forms not accepted. Results emailed after close of business on 12 Oct.
- Results sent to families
- 12 October 2026
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 May 2023
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: csse.org.uk, leadingtuition.co.uk.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the CSSE (Essex and Southend) and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (csse.org.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 14 April 2026. Read the report ↗
- Achievement
- Exceptional
- Curriculum and teaching
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Exceptional
- Post 16 provision
- Exceptional
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
From September 2024 Ofsted no longer gives an overall grade for state schools.
Inspection history (1)
- 14 April 2026: School inspection · report
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 80.9 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 98.4% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 82% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 83.4 (2023/24) → 82.1 (2024/25) → 80.9 (2025/26).
128 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- CO3 3ND
- Map location
- 51.88668, 0.88699
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01206509100
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.crgs.co.uk
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 149899) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026