Mumsnet Talk

Not recently, but I think it's fine

OK, after a little more webwading we've got: 1) Morley Memorial, 2) Queen Edith. Then we're stuck. Anyone know anything about Fawcett?

We live right next door to Addenbrooke's and dc goes to Queen Edith.

I'd look at either Queen Edith or Queen Emma as possibilities.

It is!

We live on the other side of town but I think Morley sounds lovely.

Morley is lovely - dd is there at the moment and ds left two years ago. Pastoral care is great, teaching is good and there are lots of diffenrent nationalities - some very transient though as there is an academic community who come and go sort of thing. No uniform and a little 'champagne leftie' but on the whole a nice school.

Bump?

Hello. my husband has just got a job in Cambridge and my DD starts school in September. To be in with a chance of getting into the first round of school applications I need to e-mail the council in the next 2 days. We will be living somewhere near Addenbrooke's hospital. I need ideas for the top 3 schools closest to home. So far we have Morley Memorial and Ridgeway as possibles.

Great and little shelford school is lovely, as is the village. V difficult to guarantee a place there due to high demand. Going to church will bump you up the list though! May I recommend stapleford despite its bad last ofsted (not a true representation in many ways) as after that there are lots of positive changes being made which I think will make it a fab school. Stapleford is also a lovely community.

I wouldn't bother looking at Newnham croft - there are about 5 staff members leaving all at once!!!! that should tell you something and i know for a fact that parents are really unhappy with all the changes and are taking their children out. not to mention their satisfactory OFSTED report, all in all it seems that the school is going downhill fast!!!!!!!!

Does anyone have any experience of the Spinney or Queen Ediths? We have been to see them both and they are very different schools. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of a bigger school? I'm not sure the Ofsted reports are that important, it looks like they transcribe a lot of the previous reports.

Somebody asked about Little/Great Shelford - it is supposed to be a good school and Little/Great Shelford are pretty affluent villages. It is a C of E school and their admissions criteria takes into account whether the parents are regular worshippers.

This is the link for Cambridge admissions and if you look at the First Steps pdf it indicates how oversubscribed each school was last year.

www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/education/parents/admission/

I can tell you about the Primary school in Swavesey Village up north west from Cambridge along the A14. The school is good and gets good scores from ofsted and the kids score good on tests. My impression is that the kids are bit noisy/ rowdy and the teachers strict. The English system seems to be focussed more on learning math/ English in a formal way, while in other countries learning-through-play gets more emphasis. Each primary school is very different because it are the teachers and students together who make up up the school. I'd very much appreciate if people describe here the schools they know.

Hi - its really dependant on where you are living which school you go to in general -most people in the villages go to the local school unless there is a good reason -and really its best as then DC has friends near by - and if you need school pick off/drop that is easier - I am sure the school mentioned will NOT be in one of the south villages - and it may be out of date anyway
ring the local authority - cambridge county council - and find out which schools have places in the areas you are interesting in living - you can't apply until you have a signed tenancey agreement
have a look at the ofsted reports
and have a look at the cambridge local mumsnet section there are some thread on schools theretoo

Resurrecting this thread as I am also moving to Cambridge from the US and DS aged 4 will be starting reception mid-year.(October)
I have lived in Cambridge before many yrs ago so have an idea about the areas etc.
From all I have read and seen online it seems that most state schools in Cambridge are good to v good in Ofsted reports. I would prefer to go with state anyhow.

I have 2 questions:
1. We are thinking of living in one of the southern villages. Any suggestions re primary schools there? Little/Great Shelford? Is Harston nice?

2. Mentioned above is "one school to avoid like the plague" --- it's not named but can you give me a hint so I can strike it off my list?

TIA

Skip Newnham Croft. They can't keep a headteacher.

Belatedly re: St Philips in response to JumpJockey. It's a mixed catchment, community C of E school. The head is well liked by staff, pupils and parents and was hired from a London school. In spite of a slight tendency for religious zeal, she heads up a school where pupils are happy, creative, encouraged to achieve and are supportive of their peers. Links with the community are excellent and it is a school which truly refelcts the diversity of the surrrounding community. Recent years' intakes have witnessed an increase in the St Phil's school gate`yummy mummy' - testament to the slow gentrification of Romsey and the fact that this could be the area's hidden secret.

Biased? Of course I am! I have 2 children at the school who are happy, have fantastic, dedicated teachers and who are in no way underachieving. Why fork out 10K per annum when this is on your doorstep? Ultimately, an OFSTED report is just a snapshot.

Good luck to everyone deciding on schools. Go and visit them. It is such a personal choice.

A bit late to this thread, but sishnayzjhz was asking for more on Ridgefield. It's not had the best reputation, and I was a little concerned as it's our catchment school and my DD4 wasn't likely to get into any schools outside catchment.

We visited it and really liked it. It has a really nice atmosphere, and the teachers seem to do well with the kids. DD now goes there and enjoys it, and we're impressed with what we've seen.

I understand it's not had strong leadership for the past few years, but a new head started in September, and is doing a lot. I can't say first hand what the school was like before, but from what I've heard from people whose kids have been going there a few years the head has had a great effect.

I hope this helps. I found the ofsted reports pretty depressing reading, so all I can say is go and see the schools.

No-one's mentioned St.Matthews? I've worked as a playworker and TA in several Cambs schools now, and St.Matts seems like a great school to me, really open, helpful community and great staff. Tony Davies is a fantastic, friendly, energetic head.
Very oversubscribed tho, you'd have to live in the (tiny) catchment area.
Where in the states are you moving from?

I don't think you need to pay for good A level results in Cam when there's Hills Road for free!

I grew up in the villages, went to Hauxton CPS, which was very good, but that was a couple of decades ago! I have a friend who taught at Milton Road which seemed a very good school.

We're in London now though...

Skip Newnham Croft. If you are looking for academics, then this school is not the place.

Does anyone have any recent information about St Paul's school? Thanks

My kids had a spell in Newnham Croft a few years ago when my dh was in Cambridge on Sabbatical. At that point, I found it good - it had a new IT room and good for arts. It is 'international' due to its location near various graduate colleges, many pupils would have English as a second language. The staff were able to deal with it, standards of academic work were high (probably also partly due to the fact that a lot of kids had academic parents). It also seemed quite laid back about SATS compared to the experiences of schools attended by my nephews. (And the local shop is fabulous).