Sawtry Village Academy, Huntingdon

From the headteacher's welcome: "I have spent all of my working life in education, with the majority of this time spent in Sawtry, and as such I was particularly pleased to be appointed as Principal of the Academy in February 2019."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, debating and Duke of Edinburgh.

Coming up: an open evening on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Sawtry Village Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.3 in Cambridgeshire and 47 across England.

46% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 52% in Cambridgeshire and 47% in England.

That is down from 49.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.56: pupils made well above 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 37.3, against 50.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were History, Combined Science and Art and Design.

For September 2026 entry, 182 families put Sawtry Village Academy as their first choice and 275 named it as one of their preferences, for 173 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 14 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Sawtry Village Academy is one of 36 schools run by Meridian Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.9 in 2024/25.

Of the 153 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 31% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 61 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 54% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 30% into work. 12% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

5.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (83%) and Mixed (5%).

In 2026, 72 pupils (6.5%) received SEN support and 47 (4.3%) 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.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Sawtry Village Academy.

3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Chapel End (adjacent), 130 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 27 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and drug offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cambridgeshire (57).

In 2024/25, Sawtry Village Academy issued 74 suspensions, 6.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Sawtry Village Academy are Sawtry Infants' School (0.3 miles) and Sawtry Junior Academy (0.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.