Millfields Primary School, Colchester
Millfields Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Colchester. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 23rd-highest of the 66 schools in Colchester with published results, and 5,291st of 14,452 across England. It was 89% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2014)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Essex (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Millfields Primary School in detail
Millfields Primary School in its own words
The school runs after-school care.
The school day runs from 8:30am to 3:15pm, 32.5 hours a week.
Coming up: an open day on Monday 16 November 2026 at 2pm, an open day on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 9am and an open day on Friday 20 November 2026 at 1.30pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
Wraparound care (school website)The school day (school website)Open days on the school's site (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at Millfields Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 78% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 78% and 76% in Essex and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 89% in reading and 80% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Millfields Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 29 families put Millfields Primary School as their first choice and 83 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Millfields Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Millfields Primary School are Broomgrove Infant School (0.8 miles, Good); Broomgrove Junior School (0.8 miles, Good, 73% reading, 59% maths); St Lawrence Church of England Primary School, Rowhedge (1.2 miles, Good, 70% reading, 87% maths); and Alresford Primary School (1.4 miles, Good, 77% reading, 60% maths).
Millfields Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Broomgrove Infant SchoolBroomgrove Junior SchoolSt Lawrence Church of England Primary School, RowhedgeAlresford Primary School
What parents say
102 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Millfields Primary School (as of September 2025): 90% would recommend the school, 93% say their child is happy there and 63% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (96%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (63%).
Who goes there
6.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 10.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (73%) and Mixed (12%).
In 2026, 19 pupils (8.8%) received SEN support and 3 (1.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Wivenhoe Rail Station, about 1050 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bowes Road (adjacent), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Millfields Primary School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 8th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 40 crimes within a mile of the school, most often shoplifting, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Essex (97).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Millfields Primary School issued 5 suspensions, 2.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from November 2014, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Millfields Primary School excels at teaching reading through skilled phonics instruction and ensuring all pupils - including those who struggle - get swift extra support. The school creates an inclusive, caring environment where pupils with additional needs thrive and learn alongside their peers. Staff have high expectations for all children and help them develop important life skills like independence, resilience and teamwork.
Key Strengths
- Excellent phonics teaching with all staff trained to high standard - pupils achieve highly in reading and develop a love of reading
- Strong support for pupils with SEND - staff personalise learning so these pupils can access the full curriculum
- Broad curriculum that is logically ordered, especially in mathematics where knowledge and skills build progressively from Reception to Year 6
- Caring, inclusive ethos where pupils feel safe and confident speaking to staff about concerns
- Rich personal development programme that builds independence, confidence and resilience from an early age
Areas for Improvement
- In some subjects, the most important knowledge pupils need to learn is not always taught as planned
- Checks on pupils' understanding are not always consistent, leading to gaps in knowledge
- The school must ensure precise knowledge is taught effectively in all subjects and gaps are identified and addressed
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with staff and pupils confident that concerns will be acted upon.
Extracurricular Activities
Dancing, music, gymnastics, orchestra ensemble, play leader roles, seated volleyball tournament, trips
Millfields Primary School is a caring school where pupils are eager to learn and achieve well. The school has created a broad and ambitious curriculum with positive relationships between staff and pupils.
At a Glance
6.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
102 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 89% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 78% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 83% to 50% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
31.0
Avg class size
30.0
Infant (KS1)
31.8
KS2
7
Total classes
4 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Millfields Primary School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Millfields Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Millfields Primary School is in Essex; for families living there:
- Essex's school travel policy: Education Transport Policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 3 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Millfields Primary School
Will you get a place at Millfields Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Millfields Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Millfields Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Millfields Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Essex, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Millfields Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Essex got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
89%
Available places
216 pupils
242 places
26 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Colchester
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Colchester
Across Essex council
Places available
17,932
Applications
15,737
Got 1st preference
90.3%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All primary applications across Essex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
19
SEN Support
3
EHC Plans
10.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
217
Total Pupils
105
Boys
112
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
10
Teachers
21.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,095
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,013
Per pupil
£1185k
Total funding
£21k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.6%
Overall absence
4.7%
Persistent absence
191
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Millfields Primary School
What are SATs results like at Millfields Primary School?
Of the pupils at Millfields Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 78% did so in maths.
What is Millfields Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Millfields Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2014, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Millfields Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Millfields Primary School is oversubscribed, Essex allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Millfields Primary School?
Millfields Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 89% of its 242 places.
How big are the classes at Millfields Primary School?
Classes at Millfields Primary School average 31 pupils (2025/26). 4 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Millfields Primary School?
Millfields Primary School has around 217 pupils on roll. 7% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Millfields Primary School?
3.6% of sessions were missed at Millfields Primary School in 2024/25. 4.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Millfields Primary School?
Apply through Essex's coordinated admissions process, naming Millfields Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Millfields Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 3 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Millfields Primary School?
Millfields Primary School is at Bowes Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO7 9RD.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)