Upwood Primary Academy

About Upwood Primary Academy

Upwood Primary Academy sits within Cambridgeshire’s Huntingdonshire area as a state primary for mixed pupils aged 5 to 11. Among the 210 primary schools in the local authority, it ranks 177th, placing it in the bottom half of the table. For context, the top-performing peers in the same LA include Histon and Impington Brook Primary School, Caldecote Primary School, and Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School, all of which achieve notably higher ranking scores. The school’s own ranking score of 38 puts it well behind those leaders. It is also worth noting that only five primaries in the entire LA hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating, so Upwood’s Good rating places it in the solid middle tier rather than the top. With 200 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, the school is nearly full, and its 22% pupil premium rate is above the national average, suggesting a catchment that serves a fair number of families facing economic disadvantage.

Academically, the most recent Key Stage 2 results from 2023/24 show a mixed picture. Just 38% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is significantly below the Cambridgeshire LA average of 58%. In reading, 53% met the expected standard and 13% reached the higher standard; in writing, 47% met the expected standard and none achieved the higher standard. Maths performed slightly better, with 53% at the expected level and 19% at the higher level. Average scaled scores were 100 in reading and 101 in maths, both close to the national baseline of 100. The school’s Ofsted inspection in November 2022 rated it Good across all categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. This was a consistent improvement from its previous 2012 inspection, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good but did not provide separate breakdowns for several categories.

The school offers a decent range of facilities including a library, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room, playing fields, a forest school area, and even a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, cross country, rounders, swimming, gymnastics, cricket and dance, while clubs include chess, choir, book club and film club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND support for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication issues, visual impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. Admissions data for 2025/26 shows the school is oversubscribed: 56 applications for 26 places, with 21 first-preference offers made from 21 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.15. This suggests strong local demand, and parents should be aware that securing a place may require a first-preference application. The school suits families who value a Good-rated, community-focused primary with a broad extracurricular offer and dedicated SEND provision, but who are realistic about its below-average academic outcomes compared with the LA benchmark.

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