St Mary's School for Girls
St Mary's School for Girls is an independent school in Colchester for girls aged 2 to 17. It has 424 pupils and room for 600.
91 Lexden Road, Colchester, CO3 3RB01206 572544stmaryscolchester.org.ukMr Lee Daniel Faith headteacherAll details
Inspection
This private school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted. Its reports are at isi.net.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
51 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 51 | 50 | 52 | 48 | 46 | 56 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 66.5 | 59.1 | 58.1 | 62.0 | 57.4 | 60.4 | 46.0 | 46.8 |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 82% | 76% | 77% | 85% | 65% | 64% | 44% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 100% | 94% | 92% | 94% | 91% | 88% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 6.26 | 5.71 | 5.51 | 5.98 | 5.61 | 5.62 | 4.06 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 69% | 66% | 62% | 65% | 67% | 68% | 39% | 41% |
Subjects
Results came out for 14 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 51 | 39% | 84% | 100% | 53% | – |
| English Literature | 51 | 51% | 94% | 100% | 58% | – |
| English Language | 51 | 47% | 92% | 100% | 54% | – |
| Combined Science | 35 | 31% | 86% | 100% | 36% | – |
| History | 28 | 68% | 93% | 100% | 52% | – |
| Art and Design | 21 | 43% | 100% | 100% | 58% | – |
| Spanish | 18 | 28% | 78% | 89% | 54% | – |
| Geography | 17 | 65% | 94% | 100% | 51% | – |
| French | 17 | 35% | 59% | 82% | 60% | – |
| Physics | 16 | 75% | 100% | 100% | 82% | – |
| Chemistry | 16 | 88% | 100% | 100% | 81% | – |
| Biology | 16 | 88% | 100% | 100% | 82% | – |
| Religious Studies | 9 | 67% | 100% | 100% | 60% | – |
| German | 9 | 44% | 89% | 100% | 63% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Essex council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 424 | 419 | 416 | 408 | 411 | 402 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 25% | 9% | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingswode Hoe School | Academy | 280 m | 167 | Report card 2026 | – | Compare |
| Colchester County High School for Girls | Academy (grammar) | 420 m | 1,198 | Outstanding 2023 | 99 | Compare |
| St Benedict's Catholic College | Roman Catholic | 420 m | 905 | Good 2023 | 76 | Compare |
| Colchester Royal Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 610 m | 1,073 | Report card 2026 | 100 | Compare |
| Colchester Prep & High School | Independent | 830 m | 280 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Colchester Institute | Further education | 900 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Philip Morant School and College | Academy | 900 m | 1,888 | Good 2023 | 48 | Compare |
| Hamilton Primary School | Council | 910 m | 420 | No overall grade 2025 | 77 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is St Mary's School for Girls a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score St Mary's School for Girls yet.
How good are St Mary's School for Girls's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 82% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 66.5, against 46.8 for England.
How many pupils does St Mary's School for Girls have?
424 pupils aged 2 to 17 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 600 places, so it is 71% full. It is a girls' school.
Does St Mary's School for Girls have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- 91 Lexden Road, Colchester, CO3 3RB
- Telephone
- 01206 572544
- Website
- www.stmaryscolchester.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Lee Daniel Faith
- Type of school
- Independent school (Other independent school, independent schools)
- Phase
- Independent school, ages 2-17, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Lexden and Braiswick
- Constituency
- Colchester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 1908
- URN
- 115394 · LAESTAB 8816008 · UKPRN 10017376
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.