The Thomas Lord Audley School, Colchester
The Thomas Lord Audley School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Colchester, part of The Sigma Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2016. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 14th-highest of the 15 schools in Colchester with published results, and 2,470th of 3,298 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.3 first-choice applications for every place. It was full in 2025, at 109% of capacity.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2016)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Essex (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Thomas Lord Audley School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at The Thomas Lord Audley School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.5 in Essex and 47 across England.
35% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Essex and 47% in England.
That is down from 42.3 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.13: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 34.1, against 45.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.2 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Statistics, Combined Science and History.
Getting a place at The Thomas Lord Audley School
For September 2026 entry, 241 families put The Thomas Lord Audley School as their first choice and 494 named it as one of their preferences, for 185 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 66 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at The Thomas Lord Audley School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to The Thomas Lord Audley School are Colchester Royal Grammar School (1.4 miles, selective, Attainment 8 80.9); Paxman Academy (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.4); Philip Morant School and College (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.6); and St Benedict's Catholic College (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 58.4).
Each of them had higher 2026 results than The Thomas Lord Audley School.
Colchester Royal Grammar SchoolPaxman AcademyPhilip Morant School and CollegeSt Benedict's Catholic College
The trust
The Thomas Lord Audley School is one of 12 schools run by The Sigma Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.8 in 2024/25.
What parents say
146 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Thomas Lord Audley School (as of September 2025): 90% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 76% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (95%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (76%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 165 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 46% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.
Who goes there
4.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Colchester Town Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Thomas Lord Audley School (s-bound), 250 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 149 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Essex (97), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Thomas Lord Audley School issued 77 suspensions, 8.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to The Thomas Lord Audley School are Monkwick Junior School (under 0.1 miles), Monkwick Infant and Nursery School (under 0.1 miles), St. George's School (0.8 miles) and Cherry Tree Academy (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Monkwick Junior SchoolMonkwick Infant and Nursery SchoolSt. George's SchoolCherry Tree Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; 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
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from April 2016, 10 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The Thomas Lord Audley School provides excellent pastoral care with strong relationships between staff and pupils, ensuring every young person feels supported. Teachers are confident and knowledgeable, creating lessons where pupils are fully engaged and working hard to achieve. The school celebrates individual success and has created a warm, welcoming community where pupils behave respectfully and enjoy their learning.
Key Strengths
- Excellent pastoral care and student wellbeing - pupils feel safe and supported with staff always available to listen
- Strong teaching with subject expertise - teachers explain concepts clearly and create engaging learning environments
- Highly effective support for pupils with SEND - joined-up approach between SEND team and pastoral staff
- Well-implemented reading strategy that helps pupils access the demanding curriculum
- Strong positive school culture with sustained improvements in attendance, behaviour and academic achievement
Areas for Improvement
- Feedback on pupil work is not consistently clear across all subjects - some pupils don't always know how to improve
- Younger pupils don't demonstrate sufficient understanding and respect for difference - affecting some students' comfort at school
- Need to develop deeper understanding of diversity among all pupils, particularly younger year groups
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with school leaders prioritising pupil safety and wellbeing.
Extracurricular Activities
Lunchtime bingo, football, basketball
The Thomas Lord Audley School is a secondary comprehensive that has maintained strong standards following its previous Good judgment. Pupils thrive in a caring environment with excellent relationships with staff and high expectations for academic achievement.
About
Thomas Lord Audley School is a mixed 11–16 secondary school with academy status for 800 pupils, to the south of Colchester, Essex. It serves a wide catchment area, taking students from the edge of Colchester, small villages and the community of Mersea Island.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
30.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
146 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.36 to -0.13 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 38.8 to 41.2 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 35% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 41.2 | 35.1% |
| Disadvantaged(63) | - | 34.1 | 20.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(108) | - | 45.3 | 43.5% |
| Boys(82) | - | 40.5 | 35.4% |
| Girls(89) | - | 41.8 | 34.8% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(7) | - | 58.4 | 85.7% |
| Non mobile(164) | - | 41.5 | 36% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 1 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 165 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.11%
Exclusion rate
77
Suspensions
8.36%
Suspension rate
46 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 921 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with The Thomas Lord Audley School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Thomas Lord Audley School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Thomas Lord Audley 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
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 3 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
1 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 The Thomas Lord Audley School
Will you get a place at The Thomas Lord Audley School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against The Thomas Lord Audley School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for The Thomas Lord Audley School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to The Thomas Lord Audley School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Essex, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at The Thomas Lord Audley 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
109%
Over capacity
914 pupils
840 places
74 pupils over capacity 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
17,590
Applications
16,568
Got 1st preference
83.4%
Got preferred school
97.0%
All secondary applications across Essex council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
145
SEN Support
42
EHC Plans
19.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
940
Total Pupils
498
Boys
442
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
64
Teachers
14.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,265
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,202
Per pupil
£7102k
Total funding
£342k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.6%
Overall absence
20.3%
Persistent absence
946
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Thomas Lord Audley School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about The Thomas Lord Audley School
What are GCSE results like at The Thomas Lord Audley School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Thomas Lord Audley School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 41.2. 35% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Thomas Lord Audley School's Ofsted rating?
The Thomas Lord Audley School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2016, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Thomas Lord Audley School?
No fixed boundary. When The Thomas Lord Audley 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 The Thomas Lord Audley School?
The Thomas Lord Audley School was full in 2025, at 109% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at The Thomas Lord Audley School?
Classes at The Thomas Lord Audley School average 24.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to The Thomas Lord Audley School?
The Thomas Lord Audley School has around 940 pupils on roll. 30% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at The Thomas Lord Audley School?
7.6% of sessions were missed at The Thomas Lord Audley School in 2024/25. 20.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Thomas Lord Audley School?
Apply through Essex's coordinated admissions process, naming The Thomas Lord Audley School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near The Thomas Lord Audley School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 3 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 1 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 The Thomas Lord Audley School?
The Thomas Lord Audley School is at Monkwick Avenue, Monkwick, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8NJ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)