Granta School
Granta School is a council special school in Cambridge for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 185 pupils, 5 more than it has places for. About 51 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.
Cambridge Road, Linton, Cambridge, CB21 4NN01223 896890granta.cambs.sch.ukMrs Sarah Crouch headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 April 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 16 November 2022 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
11 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 10 | 11 | 9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | – | – | – | – | 0.7 | – | 49.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | – | – | – | -1.53 | – | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | 51% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | 69% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | – | – | – | – | 0.00 | – | 4.48 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | 46% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | – | – | – | 0.5 | – | – | – |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
12 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 5 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 60% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 8% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -7.9 | -7.5 | -6.3 | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -6.8 | -8.4 | -6.6 | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cambridgeshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Cambridgeshire with moderate learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (94), Severe learning difficulty (26), Moderate learning difficulty (25), Specific learning difficulty (19), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (9), Multi-sensory impairment (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 185 | 182 | 175 | 179 | 180 | 148 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 47% | 41% | 39% | 39% | 37% | 32% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 20% | 22% | 18% | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.0% | 8.4% | 9.5% | 7.7% | 6.1% | 9.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.6% | 7.0% | 8.9% | 7.1% | 5.5% | 8.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.5% | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 22.1% | 25.2% | 36.8% | 26.2% | 17.9% | 22.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 22 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 92% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 92% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 8% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linton Village College | Academy | 230 m | 766 | Good 2024 | 63 | Compare |
| Linton CofE Infant School | Church of England | 560 m | 153 | Report card 2026 | 52 | Compare |
| Linton Heights Junior School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 231 | Not inspected | 71 | Compare |
| Great Abington Primary School | Council | 2.0 miles | 133 | Good 2024 | 33 | Compare |
| Meadow Primary School | Academy | 3.2 miles | 211 | Good 2023 | 74 | Compare |
| Ashdon Primary School | Council | 3.3 miles | 58 | Good 2022 | 70 | Compare |
| Babraham CofE (VC) Primary School | Academy | 3.6 miles | 92 | No overall grade 2025 | 77 | Compare |
| Great Chesterford Church of England Primary Academy | Academy | 3.9 miles | 177 | Good 2022 | 85 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Granta School a good school?
Granta School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it requires improvement at its last inspection in April 2024.
What is Granta School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Granta School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 24 April 2024.
How good are Granta School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does Granta School have?
185 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 103% full.
What is attendance like at Granta School?
Pupils were in school 92.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Granta School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for moderate learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Granta School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Cambridge Road, Linton, Cambridge, CB21 4NN
- Telephone
- 01223 896890
- Website
- www.granta.cambs.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Crouch
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Ward
- Linton
- Constituency
- South Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2006 (new provision)
- URN
- 134937 · LAESTAB 8737025 · UKPRN 10017840
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.