Best Schools in Cambridgeshire

How many schools are there in Cambridgeshire?

Cambridgeshire has 368 open schools: 259 state primary, 48 state secondary or all-through, 19 independent, 27 special and 15 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Cambridgeshire are rated Outstanding?

30 schools in Cambridgeshire were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Hills Road Sixth Form College, The King's (The Cathedral) School, Histon and Impington Park Primary School, Soham Village College, St Bede's Inter-Church School and 25 more. Counting Good as well, 94% of the 324 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Hills Road Sixth Form CollegeThe King's (The Cathedral) SchoolHiston and Impington Park Primary SchoolSoham Village CollegeSt Bede's Inter-Church School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Cambridgeshire get the best GCSE results?

Of the 48 schools in Cambridgeshire with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Parkside Community College, with an Attainment 8 score of 65.9 and 82% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Chesterton Community College, with an Attainment 8 score of 65.4 and 73% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and St Bede's Inter-Church School, with an Attainment 8 score of 62.9 and 75% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Parkside Community CollegeChesterton Community CollegeSt Bede's Inter-Church School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Cambridgeshire have the best SATs results?

3 of the 242 primary schools in Cambridgeshire with 2025 Key Stage 2 results had every pupil reach the expected standard in both reading and maths: Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School, Kimbolton Primary Academy and Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School. Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Abbots Ripton CofE Primary SchoolKimbolton Primary AcademyMepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Cambridgeshire?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Cambridgeshire selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

How close do you need to live to get into schools in Cambridgeshire?

It depends on the school, and the cut-off moves every year with the number of applications. Peterborough published how far the last place offered went at these schools: Arthur Mellows Village College, 2.397 miles for 2026 entry; Fulbridge Academy, 1.024 miles for 2026 entry; Hampton Hargate Primary School, 1.101 miles for 2026 entry; Heritage Park Primary School, 1.005 miles for 2026 entry; Nene Valley Primary School, 0.577 miles for 2026 entry. We hold figures for 46 schools in Cambridgeshire; each school's page has its own history. These are the authority's own figures, not fixed boundaries.

Arthur Mellows Village CollegeFulbridge AcademyHampton Hargate Primary SchoolHeritage Park Primary SchoolNene Valley Primary School

Source: Peterborough admissions booklets

How do I apply for a school place in Cambridgeshire?

Apply to your council - Cambridgeshire, Peterborough or Norfolk, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.