School Chooser

Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England86 pupilsColchesterEssex
School Chooser Score
30
Below
similar schools
Likely range 11 to 62, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, March 2024
Reached the expected level at 1158%England 63%
Attendance92.3%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
PlacesFull86 pupils, 84 places
Pupils per teacher16.5School workforce census

Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Colchester for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 86 pupils, 2 more than it has places for. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 30 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Chrismund Way, Great Tey, Colchester, CO6 1AZ01206 210415greatteyprimary.org.ukMrs Lucy Overton headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 21 March 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

12 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1158%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level8%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 50%50%20172018: 83%83%20182019: 50%50%20192023: 44%44%20232024: 67%67%20242025: 58%58%2025
Since 2017: +8%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017EssexEngland
Pupils tested12129668
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths58%67%44%50%83%50%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%0%0%33%17%0%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0106.0101.0109.0111.0108.0105.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0103.099.0105.0106.0104.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0106.0103.0110.0108.0107.0105.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%92%56%67%100%88%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard58%75%44%50%100%50%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%75%67%67%83%63%
Reading progressReading progress score-2.5-3.2+2.8+3.9
Maths progressMaths progress score-3.5-7.5-1.6-0.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged50%50%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged67%83%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 2 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
50%67%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%8%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Full84 pupils for 84 places, 2024/25
100% full

The school is full. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

How places were given out for September 2026. The last place was given under this rule: Criterion 4.

EntryPlacesApplied at allHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary1224LA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll86Census January 2026
Places84102% full
Pupils from low-income families24%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support19%16 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan14%12 pupils with a plan
Average class size18.02 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)24%£31,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls43 / 43
White British pupils87%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), language and communications needs (5), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll868282757770
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals24%27%32%23%21%14%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%1%1%3%3%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%17%19%18%19%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans12%7%4%3%10%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.3%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school20.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.7%9.0%5.6%9.1%3.6%6.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.6%7.7%4.6%7.7%2.3%4.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.1%1.3%0.9%1.5%1.4%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence20.8%21.9%11.6%26.5%10.5%8.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.01.30.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers5.2full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher16.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants5.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,714
Teachers who left in the year20%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.42024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,583England £7,738. Total £704k
Income per pupil£9,174England £7,697. Total £752k
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,096England £3,480
Money in reserve10%A healthy amount put by: £76k, £931 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£48kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,583spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate63 per 1,000 people31% lower than the England average
Typical house price£325,000Colchester
Nearest bus stop140 mVillage Hall, 4 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats34%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 30 is 17 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 47 · highest 94100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Eight Ash Green and AldhamAcademy2.7 miles102Good 202281Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 30 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 30% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 11 to 62. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.06
2025 and 2024 results; 12 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.05
Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 12 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.18
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.10
2024/25; 72 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.03
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 12 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School scores 30 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 11 to 62, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School good at its last full inspection on 21 March 2024.

How good are Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 58% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 8% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

86 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 84 places, so it is 102% full.

Is Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

Pupils were in school 92.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 21% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Great Tey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

The average class had 18.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Chrismund Way, Great Tey, Colchester, CO6 1AZ
Telephone
01206 210415
Website
www.greatteyprimary.org.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Lucy Overton
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Chelmsford
Local authority
Essex
Ward
Rural North
Constituency
Harwich and North Essex
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
115079 · LAESTAB 8813025 · UKPRN 10072446

Where these figures come from