Cambridge Primary Schools - Mid year Transfer

[little4mom]

Hello,

We are currently relocating from overseas and my little boy will be 4 yrs in July and hence ready to start his Foundation year.

Our timelines are a bit tentative and depends on how quickly the relocation proceeds. Hence, we are not sure if we would be in the UK by Sep 3 which would be the start of school.

We are looking at school options in Cambridge, UK and I would appreciate some advice on the following:

1. Should we only look at independent schools or do state schools allow for mid-year transfers?
2. Is it possible to apply to a state school with just a rental agreement?
3. Are there independent schools that would accommodate a mid-year transfer?
4. Any recommendations for state schools and independent schools would be much appreciated.

Thanks you!

Both independent and state schools will accept mid-year transfers if there are places available.

Cambridge has a lot of good schools, but lots of bad traffic. It depends most on where you are living. Ideally you'd like to get somewhere close, as travelling across the city - or into the city from a village outside - can be difficult, but the problem is that schools close to where you end up living may be full.

You might want to decide first if you intend to live in the city or in a village, which is primarily dependent on where you will be working - you want to live on the side of the city or the villages on that side closest to your work, so ideally south ish for Addenbrookes, north or east for science park, west or central for university, etc. Then have a look at what schools might have places, and where you could rent.

If you are anywhere central, plan to cycle for the school run if possible, as that will be the easiest way to get across the city in many cases.

@CityCentre thanks so much for your very helpful message. I may need to stay on the outskirts and cycle in to work which is in the city center. Do you have an idea of the villages that might be accessible to central cambridge? I was thinking about Trumpington or Eddington as potential areas on the outskirts.

both are fine, full of lots of new build properties. If you are connected to a college, you might get some sort of priority on renting in Eddington. The flats there are quite expensive to buy, so likely to be expensive to rent as well. Renting is difficult in Cambridge - flats go almost instantly, so a village might be better. Both Trumpington and Eddington would be considered city really, though technically Trumptington is a village. For the north side, Histon and Impington are nice, and for the south, the Shelfords/Stapleford are also nice, but all of those are likely to be expensive. Going further away is going to be cheaper, especially the more north and east you go. There are also large villages/small towns like Sawston, Royston, St Ives but those are significantly further away. There is a guided bus way that goes out to St Ives, and villages along that are easier to commute from, either by bus or by the cycle track running alongside. The train from Ely (and beyond) stops at Waterbeach, then Cambridge North/Central, and also villages like Foxton, Shepreth etc., and the other train line stops at villages like Shelford, Whittlesford. Otherwise, once you are out of cycling distance, public transport is not great. The park and rides are popular, though, one in each direction.

If your work can help you find accommodation, that would be ideal - some companies have flats people can stay in for the first month or two while they find somewhere - I used to live near one that was long term rented by Microsoft or somewhere; there is also a university accommodation service to help find rental properties, if the college doesn't have any available. Other companies probably offer similar help.

If you go to https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/school-allocation-information and look for the document "Cambridgeshire schools with places remaining", you can see which state schools had spaces after the initial allocation of places for September. It looks like there are a fair number of schools with spaces.