Bottisham Village College

Bottisham Village College has been rated as requiring improvement, reflecting notable changes since its last outstanding inspection over a decade ago. The school maintains high expectations for its pupils, and many achieve commendable results in examinations while developing a variety of skills. However, there are significant concerns regarding the support provided for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and some teaching practices are not effectively engaging all pupils. Additionally, bullying has been reported; although it is usually addressed, incidents can recur due to inconsistent follow-through on policies.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupil success
• Wide range of clubs and extracurricular activities
• Good provision for personal development
• Well-resourced and popular library
• Strong leadership committed to improvement

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent support for pupils with SEND
• Bullying incidents not always effectively managed
• Some subjects struggling to adapt to new lesson structure
• Low-level disruption occurring in classrooms

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Bottisham Village College attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.7% of pupils at Bottisham Village College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Bottisham Village College had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.3% of pupils at Bottisham Village College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Bottisham Village College received £8,006 and spent £7,897 for each of its 1,465 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £279,000 (£190 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Anglian Learning, income was £7,678 and spending £7,759 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Cambridge · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Bottisham Village College is part of Anglian Learning, which runs 22 schools. The nearest others:

• Bottisham Community Primary School Cambridge
• Marleigh Primary Academy Cambridge
• Fen Ditton Primary School Cambridge
• The Netherhall School Cambridge
• Meadow Primary School Cambridge
• Stapleford Community Primary School Cambridge
• The Icknield Primary School Cambridge
• Sawston Village College Cambridge
• Soham Village College Ely
• The Weatheralls Primary School Soham

What is Bottisham Village College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bottisham Village College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Bottisham Village College last inspected by Ofsted?

Bottisham Village College was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Bottisham Village College have?

Bottisham Village College has 1,396 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bottisham Village College cover?

Bottisham Village College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Bottisham Village College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.7, and 53% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bottisham Village College?

Bottisham Village College is at Lode Road, Bottisham, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB25 9DL.