Colchester Royal Grammar School 4.09

Colchester Royal Grammar School is a state-funded grammar school in Colchester, Essex, founded in 1206 and granted two Royal Charters by Henry VIII and by Elizabeth I .As of January 2014, the school's sixth form has been ranked 1st in terms of A-Level results in the country every year since 2006 and was 27th in the country in terms of Oxbridge admissions as of 2007. On 1 January 2012 the school converted to an academy.OverviewThe main school buildings are located in the Lexden area of Colchester, with the school's playing fields located nearby on Queens Road / Athelstan Road. It is situated just south of Lexden Road (A1124) in the west of Colchester near Essex County Hospital. The Colchester Garrison is not far to the south.The school has around 850 pupils aged 11–18, with girls admitted in the two upper years only. The school features extensive gardens, incorporating Gurney Benham House (named after a former Mayor of Colchester) and Elyanore House, as well as playing fields in Lexden.The school has specialisms in science and languages.AcademicThe school has consistently achieved high results, coming first in the A-level league tables every year since the 2006 results. The school is also successful at GCSE level. In 2004, it was named as the top state school in the country by the BBC. Headmaster Ken Jenkinson has explained this success by saying that "although as a grammar school the academic success of our students is our principal priority, I tend to see the results as the by-product of an ethos where we encourage students to aim high in all that they do and approach challenges with confidence."