Primary school in Colchester, Essex
Friars Grove Primary School
Upland Drive, Colchester, Essex, CO4 0PZ
Ofsted
Remained Good at its last ungraded inspection, on 12 July 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 3 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is in the lower half of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is middle, which is where this one sits, it is in the lower half.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 408
- Places
- 420
- How full
- Nearly full — 408 of 420 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 202 / 206
- Overall absence
- 5%
- Persistently absent
- 12%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 20%
- English as an additional language
- 14%
- With an EHC plan
- 1%
- On SEN support
- 13%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Colchester 022B, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 24%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 22%
- Households owning their home
- 88%
- Households in social housing
- 1%
- Households with no car
- 18%
- Adults economically inactive
- 50%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 5–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Chris Ruck
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- St Anne's and St John's
- Constituency
- Colchester
- URN
- 114761
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Brook Primary School and NurseryAcademy sponsor led | Good 2022 | 50% | 0.4 mi |
| Parsons Heath Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school | Good 2023 | 47% | 0.5 mi |
| St John's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, ColchesterVoluntary controlled school | Good 2022 | 72% | 0.5 mi |
| Roach Vale Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 57% | 0.6 mi |
| Highwoods Community Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 78% | 0.7 mi |
| Hazelmere Junior SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 38% | 0.8 mi |
| Hazelmere Infant School and NurseryCommunity school | No grade | — | 0.8 mi |
| Brinkley Grove Primary SchoolFoundation school | No grade | 76% | 0.9 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop John Robinson Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2024 | 67% |
| Lauriston SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 75% |
| John Betts Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2021 | 100% |
| St John's Walham Green Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Outstanding 2024 | 66% |
| Dalmain Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 71% |
| Ivydale Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 68% |
| Burdett-Coutts and Townshend Foundation CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2024 | 88% |
| St Clement Danes CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 100% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.