St Philip's CofE Aided Primary School

About St Philip's CofE Aided Primary School

St Philip's CofE Aided Primary School sits within the Cambridgeshire local authority, a Church of England primary for children aged 4 to 11. In the most recent local rankings, it placed 18th out of 26 primary schools in Cambridge, placing it in the bottom half of its immediate borough. Across the wider Cambridgeshire area, it ranks 97th out of 210 same-type schools. The top-performing peers in the local authority include Histon and Impington Brook Primary School, Caldecote Primary School, and Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School, all of which scored higher on the same ranking metric. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is the University of Cambridge Primary School, about 4.5 kilometres away. St Philip's itself holds a Good rating from its most recent graded inspection in November 2021, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement judgement in 2018. The school is led by headteacher Clare Hetherington and has a capacity of 315 pupils, with 227 currently on roll.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined was 60%, which sits just above the Cambridgeshire local authority average of 58%. However, the school's ranking on this metric places it in the bottom 50% nationally, at the 58th percentile. Reading was the strongest area, with 80% of pupils reaching the expected standard and 40% achieving a higher score, alongside an average scaled score of 108. Maths followed with 70% at expected and an average score of 105. Writing was weaker, with 65% at expected and only 5% reaching the higher standard. The school's Ofsted report from 2021 rated all inspected areas as Good, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, with early years provision also judged Good.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, outdoor playground, playing fields, art studios, a forest school, and a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, rounders, cross country, gymnastics, tennis, athletics, and swimming, while clubs include choir, eco club, gardening, science club, and chess. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed, receiving 53 applications for 24 places, with all 24 first-preference applicants offered a place, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.21. With 31.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively diverse intake. This is a school that has improved its Ofsted rating and offers a broad range of activities, but families should weigh the mixed academic outcomes against the strong local community feel and faith-based character.

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