Thorndown Primary School, St Ives
Thorndown Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in St Ives. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the highest of the 6 schools in St Ives with published results, and 4,602nd of 14,452 across England. It was 79% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cambridgeshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Thorndown Primary School in detail
Thorndown Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "I would like to warmly welcome you to our school. We are a large primary school serving the population on the west side of St Ives. We care passionately about our children’s education and go the extra mile to help every child reach their full potential. This is reflected in our increasing SATs exam results."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, yoga, drama and choir.
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care until 6:00pm, from £6.00 per session.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at Thorndown Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 81% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 74% in Cambridgeshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 83% in reading and 70% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Thorndown Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 68 families put Thorndown Primary School as their first choice and 96 named it as one of their preferences, for 61 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 7 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Thorndown Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Thorndown Primary School are Wheatfields Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 75% reading, 64% maths); Westfield Junior School (0.7 miles, Good, 67% reading, 66% maths); Eastfield Infant and Nursery School (0.8 miles, Good); and Wyton on the Hill Community Primary School (1.2 miles, Good, 61% reading, 67% maths).
Thorndown Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Wheatfields Primary SchoolWestfield Junior SchoolEastfield Infant and Nursery SchoolWyton on the Hill Community Primary School
Who goes there
In 2026, 40 pupils (8.4%) received SEN support and 16 (3.3%) 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 autism.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Thorndown Primary School.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ansley Way (opposite), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Thorndown Primary School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Thorndown Primary School issued 8 suspensions, 1.6 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; 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
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 · 4 years agoThis judgement is from April 2017, 9 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2017 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
17.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 70% to 81% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 73% to 65% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.0
Avg class size
21.6
Infant (KS1)
30.9
KS2
12
Total classes
4 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Thorndown Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Thorndown Primary School.
- Football Fun Factory - St IvesAt the school · Not yet graded
- Limitless - St Ives960m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Thorndown 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 Thorndown Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Thorndown 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
- 2
- Children hurt
- 4
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, 2 serious and 5 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
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 Thorndown Primary School
Will you get a place at Thorndown Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Thorndown Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Thorndown Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Thorndown Primary School.
- Cambridgeshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Thorndown Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Thorndown 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
79%
Available places
495 pupils
630 places
135 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Ives
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Ives
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(4)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
40
SEN Support
16
EHC Plans
11.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
478
Total Pupils
218
Boys
260
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
28
Teachers
17.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,941
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,029
Per pupil
£2720k
Total funding
£120k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.7%
Overall absence
11.0%
Persistent absence
438
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
Thorndown Primary School
Questions parents ask about Thorndown Primary School
What are SATs results like at Thorndown Primary School?
Of the pupils at Thorndown Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 81% did so in maths.
What is Thorndown Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Thorndown Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Thorndown Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Thorndown 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 Thorndown Primary School?
Thorndown Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 79% of its 630 places.
How big are the classes at Thorndown Primary School?
Classes at Thorndown Primary School average 27 pupils (2025/26). 4 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Thorndown Primary School?
Thorndown Primary School has around 478 pupils on roll. 18% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Thorndown Primary School?
4.7% of sessions were missed at Thorndown Primary School in 2024/25. 11% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Thorndown Primary School?
Apply through Cambridgeshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Thorndown 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.
Does Thorndown Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Football Fun Factory - St Ives (registered, not yet graded). There is another within a kilometre. The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Thorndown Primary School's term dates?
Thorndown 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 Thorndown 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, 2 serious and 5 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 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 Thorndown Primary School?
Thorndown Primary School is at Hill Rise, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6SE.
Sources: Cambridgeshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)