Alderman Payne Primary School

About Alderman Payne Primary School

Alderman Payne Primary School is a small state primary in Fenland that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 17 applications for just 9 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.89. All 9 first-preference applicants were offered a spot, which suggests that while the school is popular, families who put it first have a strong chance. The school has a Good rating from Ofsted, awarded after its most recent graded inspection in April 2023, and the inspectors singled out behaviour and attitudes as Outstanding. With only 108 pupils on roll against a capacity of 105, the school is running at full stretch, and the high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals — 28.7% — points to a genuinely inclusive intake.

Academically, Alderman Payne sits in the middle of the pack locally. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 53% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Cambridgeshire local authority average of 58%. The school ranks 136th out of 210 primary schools in the county on this measure, and 13th out of 28 in Fenland. Where the school does better is in individual subjects: 80% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, and 73% in maths, while 67% did so in writing. The average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 103 in maths. Only 7% of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects, though 13% hit that mark in both reading and writing. The school has no published progress scores for any subject, so it is hard to say how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including an art studio, music rooms, a gymnasium, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports provision covers gymnastics, netball, tennis, swimming, athletics and cricket, and there are a few clubs such as science, coding and chess. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. There is no nursery or sixth form. Alderman Payne is a non-denominational community school with no religious character. It suits families who want a small, well-regarded village-style primary where behaviour is a clear strength and where the school is genuinely oversubscribed but still accessible to local first-preference applicants.

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