Trumpington Community College

About Trumpington Community College

For parents weighing up their options, the first thing to know about Trumpington Community College is that it is a genuinely popular school. In the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 250 applications for 150 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.67. Of those applications, 123 were first-preference choices, and 120 first-preference offers were made, meaning the vast majority of families who put it top got in. That level of demand is a strong signal that local parents see something working here. The school is a mixed, non-denominational state secondary for ages 11 to 16, with no sixth form, and it sits in Cambridge under Cambridgeshire Local Authority. With 571 pupils on roll and a free school meals rate of 35.4 per cent, it serves a genuinely mixed catchment. The headteacher is Matt Oughton, and the most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2023, graded the school Good overall, with Outstanding marks for quality of education and leadership and management.

Academically, Trumpington is punching well above its weight. Its Progress 8 score of 0.61 is not just positive but well above average nationally, placing it 4th out of 8 schools in Cambridge and 43rd out of 350 in the East of England region. That score is significantly higher than the local authority average of 0.17, meaning pupils here make substantially more progress than peers in similar schools across Cambridgeshire. The Attainment 8 score sits at 53.1, and 71.8 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 59 per cent hitting grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is high at 82.1 per cent, and 62.8 per cent of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. The Ofsted breakdown shows a school that has turned around quickly: the previous inspection in 2019 rated it Requires Improvement across the board, but the 2023 inspection saw behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and overall effectiveness all rise to Good, with leadership and quality of education jumping to Outstanding.

On the practical side, the school offers a solid range of facilities including music rooms, a dining hall, playing fields, a gymnasium, an ICT suite, and a sixth form centre, though it does not run its own sixth form. Sports provision covers cricket, hockey, martial arts, cross country, dance, gymnastics, and football, while clubs include DofE, drama, choir, coding, orchestra, art club, debate, Young Enterprise, science club, and eco club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This is a school that suits families who want strong academic progress in a genuinely comprehensive setting, and who are comfortable with a school that has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. The oversubscription ratio confirms it is a first-choice destination for many Cambridge families, and the data backs that up.

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