Melbourn Village College

Melbourn Village College is an 11–16 academy converter in The CAM Academy Trust. Inspectors found a school that has improved markedly since its previous inadequate judgement, with effective safeguarding, good behaviour and pupils who feel safe, proud and settled. Many pupils achieve well because the curriculum is well planned and, in established subjects, taught strongly; reading is a priority and the specialist autism provision, The Cabin, supports pupils well. Leadership has made rapid improvements, and staff, pupils and parents recognise the difference. However, provision is not yet consistent. In some subjects, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding sharply enough, so gaps and misconceptions can go unnoticed and pupils fall behind. Support for pupils with SEND is variable: needs are not always identified promptly, progress checks are not robust, and some staff lack guidance. Personal development also needs work, particularly in building resilience, confidence and independence, and not all pupils take up wider opportunities. The school’s knowledge of available support services for pupils and families is not strong enough, so some help is less timely or well matched, although safeguarding remains effective.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and feel safe and happy.
• Behaviour is good, with clear and consistent expectations and little disruption to learning.
• The curriculum is well planned and builds on pupils’ prior knowledge over time.
• Teaching is strong in well-established subjects, with skilful questioning and clear explanations.
• Reading is a clear priority, with early readers identified quickly and supported effectively.
• Pupils in The Cabin autism provision are well supported and achieve well.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders have made rapid improvements that are recognised by staff, pupils and parents.
• A range of wider opportunities is available, including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Mandarin Excellence Programme.

Areas for Improvement

• Checking of pupils’ understanding is inconsistent, so misconceptions and gaps are not always identified or addressed.
• Some teachers do not have a clear enough picture of how well pupils understand the curriculum.
• Pupils with SEND are not always identified quickly enough, and support is not consistently matched to their needs.
• Systems for checking the progress of pupils with SEND are not robust enough.
• Work to build pupils’ resilience, confidence and independence is not consistently effective.
• Not all pupils take advantage of wider opportunities or benefit equally from different experiences.
• The school does not have a strong enough understanding of the full range of internal and external support services available to pupils and families.
• Some pupils and families do not receive timely or well-matched support.

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 Melbourn Village College attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.5% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Melbourn Village College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Melbourn Village College had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 12.7% of pupils at Melbourn Village College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 19 pupils.

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 Melbourn Village College received £10,339 and spent £10,387 for each of its 585 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £199,000 (£340 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Cam Academy Trust, income was £8,882 and spending £9,053 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 Royston · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Melbourn Village College is part of The Cam Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Harston and Newton Primary School Cambridge
• Comberton Village College Cambridge
• Jeavons Wood Primary School Great Cambourne
• Gamlingay Village Primary Sandy
• Cambourne Village College Cambridge
• Everton Heath Primary School Nr Sandy
• Offord Primary School St Neots
• Godmanchester Bridge Academy Godmanchester
• Godmanchester Community Academy Huntingdon
• Hartford Infant and Preschool Huntingdon

What is Melbourn Village College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Melbourn Village College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Melbourn Village College last inspected by Ofsted?

Melbourn Village College was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Melbourn Village College have?

Melbourn Village College has 559 pupils on roll.

What age range does Melbourn Village College cover?

Melbourn Village College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Melbourn Village College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.7, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Melbourn Village College?

Melbourn Village College is at The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF.