Colchester, Essex · Essex
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Its actual last-place-offered score has run second-highest of Essex's ten selective schools two years running — a direct score comparison, not just reputation.
CRGS sits within the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE) — a ten-school group formed in 1993 that shares a single entrance test rather than each school setting its own. There's no fixed pass mark; places go by rank order each year, and Freedom-of-Information data on the actual score of the last place offered shows CRGS running second-highest of the ten CSSE schools two years running, behind only King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford — a direct comparison, not a reputational claim.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- East of England
- Local authority
- Essex
- DfE URN
- 149899
- Website
- https://www.crgs.co.uk/
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE) — a voluntary group of 10 Essex/Southend selective schools formed in 1993 — sets and administers one shared test used for entry to all 10 member schools. Not GL Assessment, CEM, or ISEB.partly verified
CSSE's own guide confirms it organises and administers one shared test across all 10 member schools, but doesn't explicitly state who authors the question papers internally. Tutoring-sector sources consistently describe it as bespoke and set in-house by CSSE rather than outsourced, consistent with but not verbatim-confirmed by the primary CSSE document.
- Test format
- Two papers only: English (60 minutes plus 10 minutes' extra reading time) and Mathematics (60 minutes), both based on the KS2 National Curriculum. No verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Each paper is standardised and weighted at 50% of the combined score, age-adjusted by date of birth.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- No fixed pass mark — places go by descending rank order of CSSE standardised score until the Published Admission Number of 128 is filled, so the effective bar varies each year. No CSSE school may offer a place below a consortium-wide floor of 303. Up to 12 places are reserved for looked-after and Pupil-Premium-eligible boys scoring above 320. In practice, the score of the last ordinary place actually offered was 345-346 for September 2026 entry and 342-343 for September 2025 entry, per CSSE's own Freedom-of-Information disclosures.
- Superselective?
- Yes
CSSE's own FOI-disclosed last-place-offered scores put CRGS second-highest of the ten consortium schools two years running (345-346 for Sept 2026 entry, 342-343 for Sept 2025 entry), behind only King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, and well above the consortium-wide floor of 303 and every other CSSE school's cut-off. This is a direct year-on-year score comparison across all 10 schools, not a reputational claim.
Catchment & priority criteria
No formal geographic catchment or priority area — CRGS is open equally to Essex residents and out-of-county applicants, with places ranked purely by CSSE test score.
- Priority 1 (up to 12 places): looked-after/previously looked-after boys scoring above 320, by descending score, then Pupil-Premium-eligible boys scoring above 320, by descending score
- Priority 2 (remaining places): all other boys naming CRGS as a preference, by descending CSSE score, until the 128-place total is reached
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82.1 (England state-school average 46.1, Essex average 45.1) | 100.0% | Not calculated by DfE for this cohort — no KS2 baseline data available (COVID-era disruption) | 40% of A-level entries graded A* (202 students completed Level 3 study) | 95.7% |
| EBacc entry 76.6%, EBacc average point score 7.85. | |||||
| 2024 | — | — | +1.09 (banded 'well above average', confidence interval 0.82 to 1.37) | — | — |
| Most recent year DfE could calculate Progress 8 for this school (2023-24 academic year). | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Under Ofsted's post-2025 report-card framework: 'Exceptional' (the top of five bands) in Achievement, Curriculum and teaching, Leadership and governance, and Post-16 provision; 'Strong standard' in Attendance and behaviour, Inclusion, and Personal development and wellbeing; safeguarding standards met. A separate September 2025 boarding-provision inspection was rated Outstanding.
- Date
- 14 April 2026
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — current URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/149899
- 2. Determined Admissions Arrangements 2027-2028 — https://0e58658be539ee7325a0-220f04f871df648cf4a4d93a111e3366.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/colchester/uploads/asset_file/3_1166_crgs-admissions-policy-2027-2028.pdf
- 3. CSSE Information Guide 2027 Entry — test format, consortium-wide floor score — https://csse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CSSE-Information-Guide-2027-Entry.pdf
- 4. CSSE FOI response — last-place-offered scores, September 2026 entry — https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/scores_of_last_selective_place_o_2
- 5. CSSE FOI response — last-place-offered scores, September 2025 entry — https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/scores_of_last_selective_place_o
- 6. Ofsted report, dated 14 April 2026 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50304703
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — 2025 GCSE results — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/149899/colchester-royal-grammar-school/secondary
- 8. DfE Compare School Performance — 2023-24 Progress 8 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/149899/colchester-royal-grammar-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 9. School's own results page — 2025 A-level figures — https://www.crgs.co.uk/139/performance
Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.