St Ives/North Cambridgeshire

[kj1313]

Hi

Looking to relocate to North Cambridgeshire and St Ives has come up as a possible good option. Can anyone give any further info on facilities/activities/schools etc for toddlers and primary schools and teens.

Is it a friendly family environment? Initial research suggests secondary education is not great. Is that true? Where do teens tend to attend?

Any information would be greatly appreciated as we have a large area to choose from and I am finding so much conflicting info.

Similarly are there any other places you would suggest. Would prefer some local facilities within walking distance and nearby primary schools but we do drive so can travel for major things.

Thanks in advance for any help :-)

Hi. We moved to St Ives just over a year ago as my husband works in Cambridge and it was vaguely affordable and commutable. It's a nice market town with some facilities (decent leisure centres/sports facilities, children's centre/youth centre, 3 primary schools, 1 high school, library). Lacking in a substantial supermarket - there's a small Waitrose, reasonable sized co op, and a wee tesco express - but there's a large tesco and Sainsbury's at nearby Huntingdon, which is generally better for shops. That being said, decent shopping requires a trip to Cambridge or Bedford or Peterborough, all between 30 - 45 mins drive. The primaries are all highly thought of - DS just started at wheatfields this year and I'm v happy so far. I understand eastfield infants/Westfield juniors to be excellent schools, though the catchment area is more expensive to buy in than the others. All the primaries feed into St Ivo high - most of the kids go there, though some I think go into Huntingdon or even Cambridge. It has a sixth form, but I don't know much else about it, I'm afraid. My DC are too little.
DD is 18 mo and I've found plenty of toddler groups etc, either in St Ives or Huntingdon. Worth mentioning is the Olympic gym in Huntingdon - it's a proper gymnastics facility (Louis Smith and Daniel Keatings train there) and it has really nice baby/toddler classes :)

I sometimes get frustrated with the lack of shops (especially clothes shops. Huntingdon is also pretty useless for clothes) but generally it's a nice little place to live.