Thurstable School

Colchester · CO5 0EW

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 932 pupils, 18.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 16.2% on SEN support Behaviour 9.2% absence rate Staff 22.1% turnover Financials £8,096 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Thurstable School

General Information

Address: Maypole Road, Tiptree, Colchester, CO5 0EW – View on map
Phone: 01621816526
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr James Ketley
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 147 families put it first for 184 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 8
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

932 pupils out of 1275 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 172
% eligible for free school meals: 18.5%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Colchester average)
English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22.1% a year (Colchester 14.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Essex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 227 (2.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 216 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 112 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Essex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 24.2%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 16.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 56 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 39 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 35 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Physical disability: 5 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2021 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 41.9
Compared with the area: 9.0 points below the Colchester average (50.9)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−6.0 points against an expected 47.9)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 64% (Colchester 70%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolColchester averageEngland↘ Falling Down 5.1 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 9.0 points below the Colchester average (50.9).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

9th of 11 secondary schools in Colchester for Attainment 8

#7Philip Morant School and College44.5
#8The Thomas Lord Audley School42.3
#9Thurstable School41.9
#10Paxman Academy41.3
#11Colchester Academy38.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Colchester Royal Grammar School82.1
#2Colchester County High School for Girls80.6
#3St Benedict's Catholic College54.7
#4The Gilberd School53.4
#5The Stanway School48.2
#6St Helena School46.0
#7Philip Morant School and College44.5
#8The Thomas Lord Audley School42.3
#9Thurstable School41.9
#10Paxman Academy41.3
#11Colchester Academy38.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Art & Design
German
Media Studies
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Business Studies
D & T
Spanish
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
French Language
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

10th of 10 secondary schools in Colchester for Ofsted rating

#8The Stanway SchoolGood
#9The Thomas Lord Audley SchoolGood
#10Thurstable SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Colchester County High School for GirlsOutstanding
#2The Gilberd SchoolOutstanding
#3Colchester AcademyGood
#4Paxman AcademyGood
#5Philip Morant School and CollegeGood
#6St Benedict's Catholic CollegeGood
#7St Helena SchoolGood
#8The Stanway SchoolGood
#9The Thomas Lord Audley SchoolGood
#10Thurstable SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,096 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 12 secondary schools in Colchester for spending per pupil

#1Colchester Academy£8,165
#2The Thomas Lord Audley School£8,140
#3Thurstable School£8,096
#4Paxman Academy£7,940
#5St Helena School£7,834

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Colchester Academy£8,165
#2The Thomas Lord Audley School£8,140
#3Thurstable School£8,096
#4Paxman Academy£7,940
#5St Helena School£7,834
#6Colchester Royal Grammar School£7,757
#7St Benedict's Catholic College£7,447
#8The Stanway School£7,245
#9Philip Morant School and College£7,180
#10Colchester County High School for Girls£7,111
#11The Gilberd School£6,838
#12The Trinity School£6,819

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Essex: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered