primary schools in mill road area

[goldpony]

We'll be applying for primary schools next year and would be really pleased to hear of any personal experiences with the schools around Mill Rd.

Sorry should add, we're new to the city and still trying to decide where to rent. Mill Rd seems like a place with lots going on for children and parents too! It also seems a bit more affordable, so I'm hoping you think the schools are great too... Any insights welcome.

St Matthews ( norfolk street) St philips (vinery Road) Ridgefield (Radegund Road) - I wouldn't send mine to any of those personally, but out of the three I guess St Matthews would be considered the 'best'.

*disclaimer - just my feelings about my children, please don't slate me!!

So coolma, out of interest, where in the city would you recommend?

You should check the OFSTED reports for the school performance. As for the Radegund I would not say it is a good one.

Hi, no personal experience as my son is too young for school yet, but from what I have heard both St Philips and Ridgefield are not particularly good (ofsted reports back this up too). However, I have not spoken first hand to anyone with a child at these schools so this probably isn't particularly helpful!

I can confirm Mill Road area is a good place to live though, there is lots to do, lots of other parents around and easy to get into town.

Re good schools in town, I have heard Milton Road & Newnham are particularly good. But I think prices will reflect this, they are expensive areas!!

The Spinney, Newnham Croft, St. Pauls are considered as very good primary schools in Cambridge.

Morley is where my son goes, and I am very happy with that - am very angry at the moment as myd has not ot a place there but somehwre esle AWFUl (don't want to say where) Really pissed off! St Pauls was good when my eldest dd (now 20) went, Park Street v popular!

so angry my spelling went right out of the window I see!

Park Street, Newnham, Milton Road and St Pauls I'd say were the best but the catchment and intake for Park Street is tiny. St Matthews is ok. I'd personally avoid Ridgefield as not heard good things.

I have used this link before to see the rating of the school. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/a_level_gcse_results/primary_schools/

J ust type "cambridge" and search. There will be a list of very good primary schools in Cambridge one of which is the Milton Road. It is also good to read OFSTED reports. I hope they are not corrupt.

You might find my map useful. The schools are listed on the left in descending order according to their SAT scores averaged over the last four years. I've also included links to league table results and OFSTED reports. The catchment areas are accurate down to individual street level.

Oh God that map and the league tables has just made me feel quite ill. I'm off to the home school board!

Have heard bad recent (but secondhand) things about Ridgefield, despite rumours of improvement.

My understanding is that until recently Mill Rd pushy middle class parents were able to get their children into state schools further away, but that the birthrate has increased so much that this is no longer possible.

We moved to the Spinney catchment area for this reason. Went to look round it and were absolutely horrified by the pressure put on the children for SATs. Only an impression from a visit, but looked way OTT.

I'd like a school which has good behaviour and a nice environment, but I'm not bothered about league table results. Seems like they go hand in hand, though.

Park Street is fantastic. Small, great pastoral care, pro-active parents, very welcoming staff and families, excellent academic results. It's C/E but not terribly pushy, though it takes it's faith seriously, largely middle class without being exclusive, with a mix of nationalities thanks to it's city centre position and the fact that it has children from military and visiting academic family backgrounds. The head is very 'old school', the discipline gentle but highly effective and the children AND families well cared for and respected.

It also has the benefit of sometimes having mid-year spaces which if you're lucky you might obtain as an out of catchment family, owing to families moving on when they have finished their academic or military placements in the city.

Other than that, St Pauls, a larger C/E with good results. St Matthews is AFAIK considered good on results but has a few difficult children which some parents find offputting.

Atzan - can you tell me where you got your map from - is there one for further south (some of the villages south of Cambridge?)

Will be looking at schools next year for my dd and would be really useful!

Thanks everyone. So much to take on board. Atzan, your map is completely addictive! Really really useful, thanks. I'm quite gutted to hear of such unfavourable experiences with the mill road schools, as it seems like the best place for us in other ways.

Umf, i wonder if the fact middle class families in mill rd area are now having to use the local schools is having any effect on those schools? I guess this would be hard to gauge until a few years have passed.

Park st sounds lovely... tiny though, which suggests tricky to get a place. But VERY interesting to hear about mid year shifts.

If anyone has excellent advice regarding affordable, sociable places to live in Cambridge that are in the catchment area for good primary schools please feel free to let me know ;)

goldpony Cambridge is a very small place, don't limit yourself to living in the 'mill road' area alone, as most of the city centre has a similar vibe and mill road is still close enough to most other city centre places that you could benefit from everything it has to offer without sacrificing your children to schools like St. Matthews or ridgefield.

Vallhala do you have DC at park street? When you say the head is very 'old school' what do you mean? I hear they got a new head last year, has she changed the school?

We live a bit further out from Mill road, not too far from Addenbrookes and I find it a really good spot. Not far from town, but far enough out to have a bit more 'space'. I wouldn't say it's a super cheap area, but what our 3 bed house with massive gardens is worth, would get you a two bed on the street house off mill road! Sadly our catchment school is Ridgefield, but we got ds into Morley 5 years ago through the waiting list and are praying that dd will be accepted there - she's no. 2 on the list so should do! We were offered somewhere else (not Ridgefield) which is absolutley NOT going to happen!

Ah, sorry overmydeadbody and goldpony. My DC did attend Park Street, but are teenagers now. They were under the old head, the formidable but fantastic Miss Betts. I'm afraid I have no idea who the current head is and wasn't aware that Miss Betts had left. All I can say is that I'll eat my hat if the Governors and parents have allowed Park Street to change much as a result!

goldpony you'd think it would affect the Mill Road schools, wouldn't you? I've had that discussion with friends in the area lately.

We couldn't afford to buy in the centre but I reckon if I were renting I would look there. If you have a university connection then the uni has quite a bit of central accomodation.

We live near Cherry Hinton Hall park (probably quite near Coolma [waves], but Spinney rather than Ridgefield catchment). It's nice here.

It is nive isn't it? jolly nice!

We're not far from cherry hinton hall either - feels like being in the middle of the country at times.

goldpony - I've got two DCs at St Matthews (one of the Mill Rad-ish schoold mentioned above)and we're really happy with it. Lots of good teaching so far, close pastoral care, energetic vibe, nice kids. Can't speak to Ridgefield but, despite reputation, friends of mine at St Philips this year are feeling positive about it too. And both Philips and Matthews are community schools with a strong feeling of connection to Mill Rd/Romsey/Petersfield area. So if they're conisdered below par by Cambridge standards, then that should at least show that most primaries here are doing OK.

Thanks marmee, great to hear a first hand experience and a postive one too.

Will check out cherry hinton hall park area. Totally take your point OverMyDeadBody that Cambridge is a smallish and walkable place, good to remember that!

Goldpony, glad you found the map useful. I created it from the information provided in the County Council's schools information booklet. The council web site has their own map but there are a few discrepancies between it and the booklet: e.g. the map shows Orchard Street as being in St Matthew's catchment whereas the booklet lists it as being in Park Street catchment. I would take the booklet as authoritative. My map is, as far as I am aware, completely accurate.

The Council's guide to school admissions is also very helpful, although the admission criteria for each city school are also set out in the schools information booklet.

Regarding schools on and around Mill Road, the general thinking is that the town side of the railway line is fine, the far side more challenging. St Paul's is a very good school by all accounts. St Matthew's had a mediocre Ofsted report a few years ago but that was at a time when it was going through staff transition and had an acting headteacher. The latest report is much more positive, results have improved significantly and the school appears to be on an upward curve.

Over the bridge, the teaching at St Philip's gets a lot of praise but the school's results are held back by a higher number of children with learning difficulties and those without English as a first language, being situated in the Mill Road melting pot. Ridgefield is considered to be the weakest of the Mill Road area schools.

There's been quite a bit of talk about Park Street. It is a good school but, being far and away the smallest school in the city with a correspondingly tiny catchment area, it's also difficult to get into. The catchment is basically the town centre (i.e. shops), the ancient colleges (i.e. students) and two tiny residential areas: on the streets between Bridge St and Jesus Green, where many of the houses are college-owned student accommodation, and on Castle Hill, between Castle Street and Madingley Road.

From outside of catchment, places are awarded based on straight-line distance from the school. Practically, that means if you don't live in the De Freville area or the 'wedge' between Victoria Road and Chesterton Road, I should think you're unlikely to get a place. Of course, a mid-year opening might be the best opportunity, but pulling your kids out of school mid-year is a big decision, unless you're really unhappy with where they are.

I think Marmee has it right though when she says that there are very few bad schools in Cambridge. It's an affluent, cultured city and consequently many if not most schools are between good and excellent. Most likely, wherever your kids go they'll be fine.

Atzan