Isleham Church of England Primary School

About Isleham Church of England Primary School

Isleham Church of England Primary School sits in East Cambridgeshire and, on its headline Key Stage 2 measure, comfortably outperforms the local authority average for primary schools. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined stands at 68 per cent, a full ten points above the Cambridgeshire average of 58 per cent. That places the school 48th out of 210 primaries in the authority, putting it in the top quarter of its local peers. The school’s ranking score of 68 also lands it in the top 50 nationally for this metric, and within East Cambridgeshire it ranks 8th out of 27 schools. So while Isleham is not among the very highest-scoring primaries in the county — the top three local schools all score 88 or above — it is delivering results that are clearly ahead of the typical LA school, and doing so with a cohort that includes 11.1 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Academic outcomes at Isleham are solid across the board, with reading a particular strength. The average reading score at Key Stage 2 is 107, and 39 per cent of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading — well above the national benchmark. In maths, the average score is 104, with 16 per cent reaching the higher standard, and 71 per cent meeting the expected standard. Writing is similarly strong, with 71 per cent at expected and 16 per cent at the higher level. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2022, rated it Good across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That is a clean sweep of Good grades, and a clear improvement on the previous inspection in 2016, where early years provision was rated Requires Improvement. The school has held a Good overall rating across both its recent inspections, so the trajectory is positive.

Isleham is a Church of England primary with a full capacity of 210 pupils, and it is currently oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 48 applications for 29 places, with all 29 first-preference offers taken up. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.66, so families should be prepared for a competitive admissions process. The school offers a good range of facilities for a primary of this size, including a library, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room, a gymnasium and a chapel. Sports provision covers swimming, athletics, gymnastics and dance, and there are clubs for coding, choir and science. SEND support is well developed, with provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language needs, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families looking for strong academic outcomes in a village setting, with a clear Christian character and a broad extracurricular offer.

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