Northstowe Learning Community

Northstowe Secondary College is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in various domains including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and personal development, while leadership and management stand out as 'Outstanding'. The school prioritizes student well-being and fosters an environment where pupils feel happy and supported. Communication between the staff and pupils, as well as their families, is effective, with a significant majority of parents expressing satisfaction with the school's educational standards.

Strengths

• High expectations for behaviour and achievement
• Well-planned and ambitious curriculum
• Effective strategies for supporting pupils with SEND
• Strong safeguarding culture with effective measures
• High morale among staff with good professional development opportunities
• Positive relationships with parents and the local community

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in teachers' assessment of pupil learning in some curriculum areas

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 Northstowe Learning Community attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.6% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Northstowe Learning Community 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 Northstowe Learning Community had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Northstowe Learning Community were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Northstowe Learning Community received £8,725 and spent £8,500 for each of its 774 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £206,000 (£267 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Meridian Trust, income was £7,921 and spending £7,857 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

Northstowe Learning Community is part of Meridian Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• The Martin Bacon Academy Northstowe
• Hatton Park Primary School Cambridge
• Histon and Impington Park Primary School Cambridge
• Histon and Impington Brook Primary School Cambridge
• Bar Hill Community Primary School Cambridge
• Swavesey Village College Cambridge
• North Cambridge Academy Cambridge
• The Harbour School Ely
• Somersham Primary School Somersham
• Trumpington Park Primary School Cambridge

What is Northstowe Learning Community's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Northstowe Learning Community is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Northstowe Learning Community last inspected by Ofsted?

Northstowe Learning Community was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Northstowe Learning Community have?

Northstowe Learning Community has 920 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northstowe Learning Community cover?

Northstowe Learning Community for pupils aged 4 to 19.

What are Northstowe Learning Community's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.8, and 60% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Northstowe Learning Community?

Northstowe Learning Community is at Stirling Road, Northstowe, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB24 1DJ.