Need help with state schools in Cambridge

[silverkitty]

Hello all,

My family and I will be moving from the states to the UK. My dh will be attending Cambridge Uni. I have three kids, they will be in 4th, 1st and a preschooler. I've been homeschooling them for several years. Next year in the fall we want to put them in a good state school. It will be nice to have a school near the University. So far I have heard Newnham Croft is near and is a good state school. What do you all recommend? I can't apply for any schools just yet since we don't have a residence in the country. What are the top schools in the Cambridge area? Also, we are looking for a diverse school where religion is not emphasized. Rather, they teach good morals and ethics.

Looking forward to hearing some suggestions.

ThANKS!

Hello silverkitty,

It's a bit of a tricky one as many of the good schools within Cambridge are oversubscribed. I would try Ofsted as this will give you an idea of how well the schools in the area are performing.

Choices depend on where you are planning on living.

If you are able to live further away from the city your choices increase.
Swavesey Primary school is very good and is on the guided bus into Cambridge I believe.

If you are willing to be even further away you could try my DS school Great gidding Primary school (www.greatgiddingschool.co.uk) which has had three outstanding ofsted inspections in a row. It is a church of england school, but not in a dominant way, thankfully as I am not religious.
sorry not able to help

Good luck

It depends on what you mean by good.

My children go to a wonderful school in Cambridge, Abbey Meadows, which won't show up on any of the conventional recommendations. It's very mixed, it has a wonderful ethos, the standard of behaviour and consideration for others is extremely high, it is supportive of all its children, and the children make excellent progress there. It is also in what is thought to be a 'rough' area of town and has a completely undeserved reputation for being a 'bad' school, but that is partly because of the intake, and partly due to a many years ago history.

I am not saying you should send your children to Abbey Meadows, I bet you won't. I am saying don't rely on reports about reputations that you get on here. When you arrive, go and visit your local school, hear what they have to say, and see how it feels. That's the proper way to judge a school. It's what I did with my local school and I have never regretted it. My children are happy and thriving, and doing incredibly well there.

it is going to be a streach to find any school with places for 3 children - how old are your kids as the years are called different things here -first year of school is after they turn 4 - eg if they are 4 by 31st agust - that is called reception or foundation, then y1 5 by 31st august
you can't apply until you have signed tenacny agreement or excahnged on a house - you do the applications through cambrideshire county council - if you ring them neaer the time they should tell you which schools currently have places
have you looked at rents or house prices in central cambridge - they are pretty high - rightmove is your friend there. You might want to look at some of the villages - we live in Milton - its very nice, cheaper than cambridge itself - very acciable for working in cambridge - school is Cof E though - although lots of people from different countries

When you say "near the University" you need to be a bit more specific in Cambridge. The Faculties and colleges are spread across many different bits of the city. As others have said, you may well find yourselves living in one of the many surrounding villages, where homes are less expensive and you have smaller village schools to look at.

I am currently doing Primary teacher training in Cambridge so getting to see quite a few schools in the area. TBH they are pretty much all good, but with very different characters.

You really won't be able to start choosing until you know where you'll be living, but in the meantime, there are 200+ on the County Council's list. www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/education/schools/