The Bridge Columbus
Special school school · Academy special converter · ages 3 to 19
Oliver Way, Chelmsford, CM1 4ZB
- Pupils–
- Ages3 to 19
- Latest Ofsted20 May 2025
- FundingState-funded
Ofsted inspections
Shown exactly as Ofsted published them, each with its own date.
Graded inspection (no overall grade) · 20 May 2025
This inspection was of a predecessor school (Lift Columbus), before it reopened under its current reference number. Ofsted says grades of a predecessor school can’t, in law, transfer to the new one.
Category of concern: Serious weaknesses. What this means.
No overall grade: from September 2024 to November 2025 Ofsted gave sub-grades only (recorded as “Not judged”).
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
- Personal developmentRequires improvement
- Leadership and managementInadequate
- Sixth form provisionInadequate
- Safeguarding is effectiveNo
Grades run from Outstanding to Inadequate (four steps, left to right).
S8 No Formal Designation Visit · report published 8 Jul 2025
Ungraded inspection · 11 May 2023
This inspection was of a predecessor school (Lift Columbus), before it reopened under its current reference number. Ofsted says grades of a predecessor school can’t, in law, transfer to the new one.
Outcome: School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next. An ungraded inspection checks whether a school is still at the standard of its last graded inspection; it doesn’t give new grades.
Ungraded inspection · report published 4 Jul 2023
Read the full reports on Ofsted’s website (opens in a new tab) — they explain the reasons behind each grade.
Source: Ofsted, state-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (latest inspections as at 30 September 2026). Newer inspections may be on Ofsted’s website. How Ofsted inspections work.
Results
GCSE results (end of Year 11, key stage 4)
Latest: 2025/26 (provisional) · Not available pupils. Each figure shows its year. What these mean
2025/26 results are provisional: the DfE will revise them (next update due February 2027). The provisional data has no EBacc figures, so EBacc is from an earlier year.
Attainment 8 score
Each pupil’s results across 8 qualifications (maths counts double, and English usually does too), averaged across the school. It partly reflects pupils’ starting points.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “strong pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “standard pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Progress 8 score
Compares pupils’ Attainment 8 results with pupils across England who had similar results at the end of primary school. 0 means about the same; above 0 means more progress, below 0 less. How to read Progress 8.
No Progress 8 score
The Department for Education says Progress 8 can’t be calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26, because those pupils had no key stage 2 test results (the tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19).
Results describe one group of pupils in one year, so they can change a lot — especially in small schools. The DfE says “conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.” This school on the DfE’s performance tables (opens in a new tab).
Source: Department for Education, school performance tables and Explore education statistics (key stage 4, 2025/26 provisional). England and local authority figures are the DfE’s own, for the same year.
Pupils and attendance
Sources: Get Information about Schools; DfE school census and absence statistics via the performance tables. What these figures mean.
About the school
- Type
- Academy special converter (Academies)
- Trust
- THE BRIDGE MAT LTD
- Sponsor
- The Bridge MAT Ltd
- Opened
- 1 September 2026
- Local authority
- Essex
- Parliamentary constituency
- Chelmsford
- URN
- 152695 (the DfE’s reference number for the school)
Source: Get Information about Schools (Department for Education). See the full record (opens in a new tab).
Admissions
A school named in a child’s education, health and care (EHC) plan must give them a place. Ask your council about places at special schools.
How school admissions work: deadlines, oversubscription and appeals.