Northstowe Learning Community
- All-through
- Academy converter
- Ages 4 to 19
URN 148128 · Cambridgeshire · MERIDIAN TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest graded inspection
21 March 2023Overall effectiveness
Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding is effective
- Yes
Full inspection (section 5)
Under the earlier framework, inspections gave an overall effectiveness grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against Cambridgeshire and England, secondary schools.
Overall absence
2024/258.9%
- Cambridgeshire
- 8.4%
- England
- 8.4%
0.5 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 5.3% | 5.5% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 5.2% | 5.5% |
| 2020/21 | 4.8% | 5.1% | 5.5% |
| 2021/22 | 8.8% | 9.2% | 9.0% |
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 8.7% | 9.0% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 8.7% | 8.9% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 8.4% | 8.4% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/2521.6%
- Cambridgeshire
- 20.9%
- England
- 23.4%
1.8 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 11.6% | 13.9% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 11.3% | 13.7% |
| 2020/21 | 14.6% | 12.7% | 14.8% |
| 2021/22 | 19.9% | 26.9% | 27.7% |
| 2022/23 | 19.7% | 23.4% | 26.5% |
| 2023/24 | 20.6% | 23.4% | 25.6% |
| 2024/25 | 21.6% | 20.9% | 23.4% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/254.6%
- Cambridgeshire
- 4.3%
- England
- 3.9%
0.7 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 1.3% | 1.2% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 1.4% | 1.3% |
| 2020/21 | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| 2021/22 | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| 2023/24 | 3.3% | 4.0% | 3.8% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 4.3% | 3.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against Cambridgeshire and England, secondary schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/259.59
- Cambridgeshire
- 13.58
- England
- 21.24
11.65 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 5.86 | 10.13 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 5.95 | 10.75 |
| 2019/20 | 1.30 | 5.05 | 7.43 |
| 2020/21 | 3.61 | 7.32 | 8.48 |
| 2021/22 | 5.90 | 11.96 | 13.96 |
| 2022/23 | 7.64 | 14.33 | 18.90 |
| 2023/24 | 6.75 | 16.21 | 22.61 |
| 2024/25 | 9.59 | 13.58 | 21.24 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/250.00
- Cambridgeshire
- 0.06
- England
- 0.23
0.23 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 0.00 | 0.20 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 0.00 | 0.20 |
| 2019/20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.13 |
| 2020/21 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.10 |
| 2021/22 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.16 |
| 2022/23 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.22 |
| 2023/24 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.25 |
| 2024/25 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.23 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 2 results
Against Cambridgeshire and England, primary schools.
Reading, writing and maths: expected standard
2024/25Not publishedNot applicable to this school
- Cambridgeshire
- 59%
- England
- 63%
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 58% | 59% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 58% | 60% |
| 2023/24 | Not published | 58% | 61% |
| 2024/25 | Not published | 59% | 63% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | Not published | 60% | 63% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Reading, writing and maths: higher standard
2024/25Not publishedNot applicable to this school
- Cambridgeshire
- 7%
- England
- 8%
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 8% | 7% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 8% | 8% |
| 2023/24 | Not published | 7% | 8% |
| 2024/25 | Not published | 7% | 8% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | Not published | 6% | 9% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Key stage 4 results
Against Cambridgeshire and England, secondary schools.
Attainment 8
2025/26 (provisional)52.8
- Cambridgeshire
- 50.3
- England
- 47.4
5.4 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 52.6 | 49.8 |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 49.7 | 47.2 |
| 2023/24 | 51.9 | 49.1 | 46.9 |
| 2024/25 | 51.4 | 49.3 | 47.1 |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 52.8 | 50.3 | 47.4 |
The average of pupils' points across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 4 or above
2025/26 (provisional)74%
- Cambridgeshire
- 70%
- England
- 66%
8 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 74% | 70% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 70% | 67% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 70% | 67% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 69% | 66% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 74% | 70% | 66% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 4 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 5 or above
2025/26 (provisional)60%
- Cambridgeshire
- 52%
- England
- 48%
12 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 55% | 51% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 50% | 46% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 51% | 47% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 51% | 47% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 60% | 52% | 48% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
Pupils
Against Cambridgeshire and England, secondary schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/2519.4%
- Cambridgeshire
- 21.8%
- England
- 25.8%
6.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 14.8% | 16.5% | 20.9% |
| 2022/23 | 15.9% | 18.6% | 22.7% |
| 2023/24 | 17.0% | 20.2% | 24.1% |
| 2024/25 | 19.4% | 21.8% | 25.8% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/2510.4%
- Cambridgeshire
- 11.1%
- England
- 13.4%
3.0 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 8.2% | 9.7% | 11.9% |
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 10.6% | 12.4% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 10.0% | 12.9% |
| 2024/25 | 10.4% | 11.1% | 13.4% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/254.0%
- Cambridgeshire
- 4.3%
- England
- 3.1%
0.9 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 4.9% | 3.0% | 2.2% |
| 2022/23 | 3.2% | 3.6% | 2.4% |
| 2023/24 | 4.0% | 4.0% | 2.7% |
| 2024/25 | 4.0% | 4.3% | 3.1% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/2513.6%
- Cambridgeshire
- 14.2%
- England
- 19.2%
5.6 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 7.5% | 11.6% | 17.5% |
| 2022/23 | 12.1% | 13.0% | 18.1% |
| 2023/24 | 12.5% | 13.7% | 18.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.6% | 14.2% | 19.2% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against Cambridgeshire and England, secondary schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/2616.9
- Cambridgeshire
- 17.7
- England
- 17.3
0.4 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 15.9 | 16.5 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 16.9 | 16.8 |
| 2019/20 | Not published | 17.4 | 17.2 |
| 2020/21 | 13.6 | 17.5 | 17.1 |
| 2021/22 | 15.3 | 17.4 | 17.1 |
| 2022/23 | 17.1 | 17.4 | 17.2 |
| 2023/24 | 17.0 | 17.6 | 17.4 |
| 2024/25 | 16.1 | 17.7 | 17.3 |
| 2025/26 | 16.9 | 17.7 | 17.3 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/255.6 days
- Cambridgeshire
- 4.8 days
- England
- 5.0 days
0.6 days higher than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 3.7 days | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 3.6 days | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 3.6 days | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | 5.2 days | 5.9 days | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 2.6 days | 4.9 days | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 2.6 days | 5.3 days | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 5.6 days | 4.8 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 920
- Capacity
- 2,830
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- All-through
- Age range
- 4 to 19
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MERIDIAN TRUST
- Opened
- 1 September 2020
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 8 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Address: Stirling Road, Northstowe, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB24 1DJ
Website: northstowe.education
Telephone: 01223343800
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
Spotted something wrong? Report a correction with the school’s URN (148128). Fixes go out in the next weekly release.