Primary Schools in Central Cambridge

[Poppywink]

Hello, planning a move to Cambridge asap and need some advice on primary schools in central Cambridge. Does anyone have experience on any of the following schools?

St Matthew's
Park Street CofE
St Luke's CofE
University of Cambridge Primary School
Newnham Croft

Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you!

I'm not sure I can be much help, but just to say that if you will need places imminently then I would have thought your best bet is to call the LEA and see where there are spaces. Having seen other posts about some of those schools I would expect that they would be oversubscribed.

How old are your children / what year would they need?

As the previous poster said, you should check for spaces with the LEA.

However, I can tell you that the University Primary school currently only goes up to year 3 so if your children are older you can rule that one out.

When you have a list of possibles from the LEA, I'm sure people will be able to help out.

Hello, just one aged 3 who starts school (reception) in September. The LEA don't know the number of places yet as they deal with late admissions until May so hoping to put in an application before then. I will come and look at some of the schools myself but wanted to see if anyone has experience of the ones I've mentioned.

They're all fine OP. The University of Cambridge one isn't central though, it's out on a new development out of town where they haven't actually got round to building the houses yet so it's a bit odd! St Matt's is big and popular, Park St is tiny and very central, St Luke's is small and inclusive, Newnham Croft is very international and has a lot of visiting academics' kids. Still staying quite central you could add Milton Road, St Paul's, Arbury, Morley to your list too. I honestly think your DC will be fine wherever s/he ends up but it will come down to where has spaces.

Not sure if it helps, but my little one goes to uni of Cambridge primary school and it's great! Always new exciting things going on there! (An event provided by the 'little gym' and a book reading by a well known author today for example). Have heard good things about the other schools you mention too, so might come down to location I guess, or which one just feels right or has spaces! (I don't think uni of Cambridge school is a bit "odd" by the way! I'd say instead it's quite exciting and run by a pretty great uni!)

Sorry, I didn't mean the school is odd. I just find it weird that they've built the school but not the housing development that was supposed to go up around it!! And it really can't be considered central Cambridge. However I'm sure it's a great school.

!! :) yeah, it does seem a bit back-to-front! Will be nice when the houses are finished!

All of the schools you listed are really good, but in different ways! I have worked in some of them, had a child in Park Street who loved it and did very well in the tiny inclusive school, my child got on very well a with the teachers (which you need to, there are only four classrooms so you do two years on each). I had another child in st Matthews as they needed a big school, and it was amazing, perfect for his personality. He would have hated park Street. The heads at both are lovely.

Go and visit them op, and see where you think your DC will fit in best.

Have a look at your catchment school, it's always worth considering.

Park St seems to get great feedback, it is little though.

St Matthews is really good but very big for a primary. Morely is great but lots of kids leave to go private at the end of Yr 2