Cambridge primary schools

[Floreat]

We are about to move to Cambridge and will need to move our son to one of the local primary schools. What are the best primary schools in the city? Many thanks!

Lots of good primaries; I have no idea how you would measure 'best' though. If you are Catholic then St Albans is rated pretty highly currently, otherwise I think St Matthew's, Morley, Mayfield are all well thought of. You might get more responses on the Cambridge local board. Whereabouts were you thinking of living? The most popular schools are often at capacity, although spaces arise higher up the schools. How old is your son? What sort of a school are you after?

Thanks! You are right, 'best' is a rather vague concept. I'm looking for a rather academic school - we are thinking about living in the city centre, but happy to compromise if the school choice requires it. My son is 7 and we would move for the beginning of next academic year in Sept. He will be in year 3 by then. What do you suggest is the best course of action?

Lots of primary school and moving to Cambridge threads here -

local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_cambridge

I don't know how possible it is to identify 'academic' schools. Those with the best SATs results might just have a generally more able/well-supported intake, or with better starting points. Any good school should allow an academic child to flourish. It used to be the case that there were certain primaries where you found the children of university academics, and others where you probably didn't, but with house prices as they are, academics' children are to be found all over Cambridge. I think that's a good thing. If you want raw results without any context you could look at the Cambridgeshire league tables.
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/11285117/Primary-school-league-tables-2014-compare-your-schools-performance.html#area/Cambridgeshire

The Spinney is in Cherry Hinton, which is a sort of satellite village/suburb of Cambridge. Probably your best option if you're not able to spend a lot of money on a house. Morley is fairly central, so expensive housing, as is St Albans (but you have to be Catholic). Newnham Croft is pretty central too, but house prices around it are astronomical as it's a very pretty part of town with easy access to everything. Lots of academics there I would think. Don't overlook St Matthews, Mayfield, Milton Road, or Park Street which is tiny and very, very central.

Thank you! Lots of food for thought... I'm finding the whole thing rather overwhelming... the house, the school...

Park Street, without a second thought. Academic, warm, welcoming and caring.

They're all pretty good, actually, one of the reasons why it's now nearly impossible to buy a house in Cambridge. FYI Milton Road, which a few weeks ago was rated outstanding, has been downgraded to needs improvement in its very recent Ofsted. Which school is really not worth getting worked up about.

Park Street, by the way, has a catchment about the size of a pea, nearly all of which is student housing, and you won't get into it as a Church of England applicant unless it's your closest CofE school (unlikely). Don't bother. The other central-ish schools include St Paul's (CofE), St Alban's (Catholic), St Matthew's, Morley, Milton Road, Newnham Croft. All good, all full of academic middle class children because Cambridge is that kind of place. Loads of the other schools are good too - off the top of my head Mayfield, Queen Edith's Ridgefield, Queen Emma.

It's not London. There just aren't any really bad schools. More generally, there's not much crime. It's frankly all rather staid.

with house prices as they are, academics' children

Most academics salaries are pretty mediocre and they can no longer afford to live in Central Cambridge unless they have a spouse earning mega bucks in the city/doctor/lawyer or they have a private income. The university is beginning to have serious trouble recruiting because of it.

one thing i would add is that schools are really used to children joining the school, when we moved its worked really well and my DS settled in. As people have said central Cambridge has stupid house prices but schools seem good

If you haven't already bought/rented you might also consider living out in one of the villages. Again, schools generally good and house prices are a little lower than in town. Housing in Cambridge has been very restricted for decades and although a lot is now being built within the city it isn't cheap.

Yes, I would second what MsDeerhart says - my kids' school has seen MASSIVE transience in its classes and children constantly arrive and depart from and to all over the world. It's sometimes tricky for friendship groups but it's lovely in other ways, to be surrounded by so many different languages and cultures in one school playground.
Pirate Panda, did you mean Milton Road school isn't worth getting worked up about, or the Ofsted report?

Both, actually - sorry, realised that that sentence sounded illiterate. I meant that Milton Road is probably still fine (there were those of us who never thought it was all that and were at the people spending an extra 100K to get into catchment). And that all the schools in Cambridge are pretty much fine, so there's not much point getting worked up and anxious about getting your child into a good school in Cambridge.

Yes, I think they're all pretty much fine too. And Ofsted reports are very data-driven so they don't always really tell you much about the experience of being a pupil at the school. I honestly think the OP should find a house she likes and let the school application be guided by where it is.

Lots of primaries are now Learning Trust Academies and I wouldn't touch any of them with a bargepole.

A lot of academics now live in Arbury, which is traditionally the dodgy area! As everyone else has said - house prices here are mental and family homes go for well over the asking price (like £50-80k over, when we were looking). Would you consider villages? Cambridge traffic is terrible, which means once you're too far for an easy cycling commute, house prices drop.

Phleba, that's not a very helpful comment for someone who doesn't know the area. Which would you not touch with a barge pole? Or if you like, which come up to scratch in your opinion? You must be seriously fussy (and misinformed) if you think the average Cambridge school is so bad you wouldn't send your child there.

No, it's just that as a teacher who did work in an Active Learning Trust academy and has gone back to LEA schools in Cambridgeshire, I would not recommend them as their staff turnover is high, they use far to many NQT's in ratio to experienced staff, and all the academies run by them have been laying off support staff. So I think it is quite helpful to know that, tbh, especially as they are very glossy looking and great at manipulating data.

There are plenty of great schools in Cambridge, I would just recommend going for an LEA one. The LEA is a good one, IMO, compared to others I have worked under, and is very pro-active.

PiratePanda, past experience of Park Street taught me that it had a reasonable amount of in-year, post reception class movement owing to research and short term contracted academics/forces/similar families coming and going. That's how my DC got offered places there despite living in East Chesterton. Of course the chances of this happening may have changed dramatically now but I can't fathom a reason why they should.

From personal experience I would avoid the East Chesterton catchment primary and Orchard Park school like the plague.

I know the East Chesterton area well and the catchment school, Shirley, is a great school.
No need to avoid local schools at all in my view; far from it.
Orchard Park, The Grove, Kingshedges, St Lukes, Arbury Road and Abbey Meadows also have Good ofsteds.
A wide choice of good schools in this area of Cambridge.
Not sure what area of Cambridge the op wants though.
Good luck whatever you decide....

It's very subjective, isn't it DustyGold? I still know East Chesterton well and still wouldn't entertain the idea of using Shirley for a child of mine. I wouldn't use Orchard Park due to very negative experiences with the headteacher. Other parents might be unable to have a bad word said about these two schools. I've found in the past that not all Ofsted reports provide an accurate assessment and not all schools are honest in the way they obtain good ratings so I tend to take them with a pinch of salt.

Your loss HappyRacer; your loss.....
I know many happy parents and children who have been to schools in East Chesterton.
I will bow out now and just suggest to the op that she visit schools she is interested in/ are near area she wishes to live and make her own mind up.

We must agree to differ, DustyGold. There has been no loss to me at all: I feel that my children benefited hugely by going to school outside of the East Chesterton catchment area.

"and just suggest to the op that she visit schools she is interested in/ are near area she wishes to live and make her own mind up."

We agree very much there. I'd go so far as to suggest looking at the independent schools and at some of the village state schools if your work and other needs permit that, Floreat. You may find that a slightly niggly journey into Cambridge is worth it in return for a good village school and peaceful way of life. It really depends on your circumstances, budget and needs.

Without wishing to out myself totally, I taught in a Active Learning Trust school (secondary) too. Avoid. But I don't think the Shirley is ALT- run and I think they are even showing Milton Road a thing or two so I wouldn't dismiss it at all!

Thank you to all!
just three further questions: what are Active Learning Trust schools and LEA schools? how do I recognise which is which?

What is so good about Park Street school? they do not allow visit from in-year parents but have room in my son year

and, finally, how does the issue of secondary schools play a part in the choice of house/primary school?

The Active Learning Trust run academies. Very few primaries in Cambridge are academies and it would say so fairly clearly on their website if they were, I think. Some people might think academies are a good thing, so don't rule anything out. Just be aware! Park Street was recommended by a poster, I assume because her children go there, but I think many Cambridge parents would also recommend their own children's schools so I wouldn't assume Park St is the be all and end all. I'm surprised you can't visit, but maybe that's normal. Secondary school places will depend on catchment as opposed to the primary attended. You might want your son to move up to secondary with lots of friends from primary, in which case you need to look at secondaries and find a primary that feeds lots of children to the one you like, but the main criterion will be your address. Popular secondaries seem to be St Bede's (but you need to be religious), Parkside (perennially popular) and Chesterton. Out of town, Swavesey and Comberton are sought after. So you could look in the catchments of these schools and then see what you think about primaries.