Bushmead Primary School, St Neots
Bushmead Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in St Neots. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 8th-highest of the 12 schools in St Neots with published results, and 9,159th of 14,452 across England. It was 91% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cambridgeshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Bushmead Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils at Bushmead Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 75% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 74% in Cambridgeshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 76% in reading and 78% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Bushmead Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 60 families put Bushmead Primary School as their first choice and 94 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Bushmead Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Bushmead Primary School are Crosshall Junior School (1.1 miles, Good, 81% reading, 82% maths); Crosshall Infant School (1.1 miles, Good); Eynesbury CofE C Primary School (1.2 miles, Good, 81% reading, 70% maths); and Middlefield Primary Academy (1.4 miles, Outstanding, 84% reading, 68% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Bushmead Primary School.
Crosshall Junior SchoolCrosshall Infant SchoolEynesbury CofE C Primary SchoolMiddlefield Primary Academy
What parents say
78 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bushmead Primary School (as of September 2025): 94% would recommend the school, 95% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).
Who goes there
7.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (82%) and Mixed (6%).
In 2026, 49 pupils (12.9%) received SEN support and 10 (2.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is St Neots Rail Station, about 2.3 miles away in a straight line.
12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Nelson Road (near), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Bushmead Primary School issued 31 suspensions, 8.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from January 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
This is a happy and nurturing school. Staff and pupils maintain warm, good-humoured relationships. The school expects pupils to be 'ready, respectful and safe', and pupils know this. Pupils are happy in school and enjoy their time here. They are willing to share their feelings and experiences openly with visitors to the school. Pupils are clear that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of their differences.
Staff and pupils share high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Pupils listen well in lessons and work hard. For pupils who need it, support in the nurture group helps develop their resilience and improve engagement with learning. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils know that they can always speak to staff if they have worries.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school's curriculum clearly identifies what pupils should learn in each subject. This starts in the early years. Learning in most subjects is carefully sequenced to enable pupils to deepen their learning over time. Some subjects are more developed than others. This is because the school has taken the time to implement the changes in a considered way.
Outcomes in national tests have steadily improved over time. However, sometimes, teachers do not check effectively what pupils have learned. This means that gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always identified and some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. Therefore, some pupils do not progress as well as they might.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2019 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
23.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
78 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 76% to 71% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 75% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 68% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.5
Avg class size
28.4
Infant (KS1)
26.8
KS2
11
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Bushmead Primary School
Term dates
Bushmead Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Cambridgeshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Bushmead Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Bushmead Primary School is in Cambridgeshire; for families living there:
- Cambridgeshire's school travel policy: School Travel Assistance Policy - Mainstream September 2025 326KB - pdf
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 6 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Cambridgeshire is 5 (the median across 312 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Bushmead Primary School
Will you get a place at Bushmead Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Bushmead Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Bushmead Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Bushmead Primary School.
- Cambridgeshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Bushmead Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Bushmead Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Cambridgeshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
91%
Near capacity
382 pupils
419 places
37 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Neots
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Neots
Across Cambridgeshire council
Places available
8,107
Applications
6,292
Got 1st preference
94.7%
Got preferred school
99.0%
All primary applications across Cambridgeshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(12)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
49
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
15.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
380
Total Pupils
194
Boys
186
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
23
Teachers
16.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£47,212
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,373
Per pupil
£2290k
Total funding
£145k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.1%
Overall absence
16.5%
Persistent absence
340
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Bushmead Primary School
Questions parents ask about Bushmead Primary School
What are SATs results like at Bushmead Primary School?
Of the pupils at Bushmead Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 71% reached the expected standard in reading and 75% did so in maths.
What is Bushmead Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Bushmead Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Bushmead Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Bushmead Primary School is oversubscribed, Cambridgeshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Bushmead Primary School?
Bushmead Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 91% of its 419 places.
How big are the classes at Bushmead Primary School?
Classes at Bushmead Primary School average 27.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Bushmead Primary School?
Bushmead Primary School has around 380 pupils on roll. 24% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Bushmead Primary School?
6.1% of sessions were missed at Bushmead Primary School in 2024/25. 16.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Bushmead Primary School?
Apply through Cambridgeshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Bushmead Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
What are Bushmead Primary School's term dates?
Bushmead Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Cambridgeshire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Bushmead Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 6 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Cambridgeshire is 5 (the median across 312 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Bushmead Primary School?
Bushmead Primary School is at Bushmead Road, Eaton Socon, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 8BT.
Sources: Cambridgeshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)