Melbourn Village College, Royston
Melbourn Village College is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Royston, part of The Cam Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 26th-highest of the 34 schools in Cambridgeshire with published results, and 2,047th of 3,298 across England. It was 69% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Cambridgeshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Melbourn Village College in detail
Melbourn Village College in its own words
In its own words: "Melbourn Village College is a true community school at the heart of Melbourn village, proud to be part of The Cam Academy Trust. Since opening in 1959 and joining the Trust in 2013, we have served South Cambridgeshire with over 600 students aged 11-16."
From the headteacher's welcome: "I am honoured to be the Principal of Melbourn Village College. As a true community school in the heart of Melbourn village and proudly part of The Cam Academy Trust. We strongly believe in the power of partnerships working together as we strive for excellence through our core values of Kindness, Curiosity and Resilience."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, tennis, basketball, swimming, dance, drama, guitar and Duke of Edinburgh.
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at Melbourn Village College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.3 in Cambridgeshire and 47 across England.
44% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 52% in Cambridgeshire and 47% in England.
That is up from 42.3 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.48: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36, against 46 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were History, Biology and Chemistry.
Getting a place at Melbourn Village College
For September 2026 entry, 70 families put Melbourn Village College as their first choice and 133 named it as one of their preferences, for 102 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Melbourn Village College
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Melbourn Village College are King James Academy Royston (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.5); and Bassingbourn Village College (3.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.7).
Melbourn Village College's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 2 schools.
The trust
Melbourn Village College is one of 17 schools run by The Cam Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.5 in 2024/25.
What parents say
189 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Melbourn Village College (as of September 2025): 43% would recommend the school, 68% say their child is happy there and 40% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (70%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (40%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 137 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 77% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 30% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.
Who goes there
5.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 71 pupils (12.7%) received SEN support and 42 (7.5%) 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.
Melbourn Village College has a resourced provision for autism: 21 places, 18 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Meldreth Rail Station, about 740 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Norgett's Lane (near), 240 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Melbourn Village College stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Melbourn Village College issued 167 suspensions, 28.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Melbourn Village College are Melbourn Primary School (0.3 miles) and Meldreth Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Cambridgeshire published that the last place for 2024 entry went to a family 3.415 miles away (straight line). The cut-off moves every year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoThis judgement is from May 2013, 13 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
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Pupils feel settled and proud to attend Melbourn Village College. Teaching is strong in established subjects like Mandarin where pupils achieve highly, and the school has effective systems to support early readers. The school community appreciates the positive changes in leadership and the wider opportunities available to students.
Key Strengths
- Well-planned curriculum that is well-taught in many subjects, particularly Mandarin where pupils achieve highly
- Strong behaviour and positive school culture with clear, consistent expectations
- Effective early reading support with careful progress checks for pupils at early stages
- Well-supported specialist provision for pupils with autism (The Cabin) with targeted additional support
- Rapid improvements made by trust and school leadership that are making a clear difference to pupils' experiences
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding across the school - teachers do not always identify when pupils have misconceptions or gaps in learning
- Variable support for pupils with SEND - needs not always identified quickly enough and systems to check progress are not robust
- Personal development work to build resilience and independence is not consistent - not all pupils benefit equally from opportunities
- School lacks strong enough understanding of available internal and external support services for pupils and families
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with well-trained staff who report concerns quickly and follow clear procedures, though the school could better understand the full range of available support services.
Extracurricular Activities
Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Mandarin Excellence Programme with trips to China, clubs, sports, career pathway learning
Melbourn Village College has made rapid improvements following previous inadequate ratings. Pupils are proud of the school and behaviour is good, though the quality of education and personal development still require improvement.
About
Melbourn Village College is a secondary school with academy status, located in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, England that serves an extensive area of South Cambridgeshire. The school has over 600 students aged 11–16.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
26.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Autism
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
189 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.12 to -0.48 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 44.5 to 43.7 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 44% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 43.7 | 44.4% |
| Disadvantaged(25) | - | 36.0 | 28% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(83) | - | 46.0 | 49.4% |
| Boys(59) | - | 40.5 | 35.6% |
| Girls(49) | - | 47.6 | 55.1% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(8) | - | 52.6 | 50% |
| Non mobile(104) | - | 44.3 | 46.2% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 2 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 137 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.17%
Exclusion rate
167
Suspensions
28.55%
Suspension rate
68 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 585 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 1 nearby secondary school
Latest from Melbourn Village College
Results Day 2026
17 Aug 2026
Revision workshop with Kevin Hayes
15 Dec 2025
Celebrating achievement. The 2025 MVC awards evening
15 Dec 2025
MVC Futures Talk
15 Dec 2025
Remembrance Day poems
15 Dec 2025
From Melbourn Village College's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Melbourn Village College
Term dates
Melbourn Village College is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Cambridgeshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Melbourn Village College from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Melbourn Village College 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
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 6 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
1 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 Melbourn Village College
Will you get a place at Melbourn Village College? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Melbourn Village College's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Melbourn Village College:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Melbourn Village College.
- Last distance offered for 2024 entry, from Cambridgeshire's own figures, and how your distance compares each year.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Melbourn Village College 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
69%
Available places
579 pupils
836 places
257 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Royston
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Royston
Across Cambridgeshire council
Places available
7,228
Applications
6,755
Got 1st preference
88.3%
Got preferred school
96.6%
All secondary applications across Cambridgeshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
71
SEN Support
42
EHC Plans
20.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Melbourn Village College has a resourced provision for autism: 21 places, 18 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
559
Total Pupils
289
Boys
270
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
37
Teachers
15.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,116
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,950
Per pupil
£4351k
Total funding
£155k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
9.1%
Overall absence
23.5%
Persistent absence
608
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Melbourn Village College
Questions parents ask about Melbourn Village College
What are GCSE results like at Melbourn Village College?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Melbourn Village College achieved an Attainment 8 score of 43.7. 44% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Melbourn Village College's Ofsted rating?
Melbourn Village College's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2013, it was rated Good.
How close to Melbourn Village College do you need to live?
Cambridgeshire published for September 2024 entry that the last place offered at Melbourn Village College on distance went to a family 3.415 miles away. This is the authority's own figure for one year, not a fixed boundary - the cut-off moves with the number of applications, so treat it as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Is it hard to get a place at Melbourn Village College?
Melbourn Village College was not full in 2025: it ran at 69% of its 836 places.
How big are the classes at Melbourn Village College?
Classes at Melbourn Village College average 25.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Melbourn Village College?
Melbourn Village College has around 559 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Melbourn Village College have specialist SEN provision?
Melbourn Village College has a resourced provision for autism: 21 places, 18 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Melbourn Village College?
9.1% of sessions were missed at Melbourn Village College in 2024/25. 23.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Melbourn Village College?
Apply through Cambridgeshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Melbourn Village College on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Melbourn Village College?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 6 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 1 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 Melbourn Village College?
Melbourn Village College is at The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF.
Sources: Cambridgeshire admissions booklet; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)