St Paul's Primary, Cambridge

[totallyteutonic]

Hi there, I've found a couple of threads that are a few years out of date referencing St Paul's on Coronation Street. I was wondering if there are any parents with kids there who have views on what it's like now?

I visited outside the proper open-day events and didn't get to meet the head or spend long enough there to really get a sense of the place. It didn't seem to have as much of a clearly friendly and warm vibe as other schools I've seen. And I simply can't find anyone in my network with kids there, which is a bit weird in and of itself!

It's really the only dead cert that we'll get into (though may get it into Newnham Croft / Park Street too, depending on the volume of applications this year but I am trying not to get my hopes up).

At the moment I am erring on the side of listing it as our third choice behind Newnham Croft and Park Street, but not sure how upset I'll be if we just get St Paul's!

Many thanks

Hi,

I have two kids there and one who has left. I’m really surprised you didn’t find it warm and friendly as the small, close community has always been one of its strongest points.

The Headteacher is lovely- approachable and well-liked by the children, staff and parents alike. Due to it’s size, every teacher knows every child and the pastoral care is excellent, as is the fun and engaging learning.

I believe the school offers private tours, so call the office in the first week of term and book an appointment. Well worth another visit!

Good luck!

@Amc11 Fantastic, thank you for your reply, that is so great to hear. It was a little different from other tours, e.g. most teachers ignored us when we went in classrooms rather than greeting us, we didn’t actually go in all classes and I was shown around by office staff rather than Head (which had never happened and I, for complicated reasons, I have visited A LOT of schools).

I guess I had a nagging doubt about why it’s the only undersubscribed school with a falling roll in the centre of town and wondered if other parents knew something I didn’t. Does still seem a little strange!

I think that is largely because of the historically poor Ofsted report the school had. However, the new Head has transformed the school and the new Ofsted report reflects that. Pupil numbers have risen again and are expected to continue doing so. Have a read of the report online, which is a much more recent reflection of the school than many whose Ofsted reports are years old.

@Amc11 Ah yes ok that makes sense and glad to hear you are so happy with the Head and the school. Thanks so much for your replies.