School Chooser

Lime Academy Abbotsmede

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy423 pupilsNurseryPeterborough
School Chooser Score
31
Below
similar schools
Likely range 18 to 51, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 36% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, June 2026
Reached the expected level at 1157%England 63%
Attendance94.3%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families42%Far more than most schools
Places53 spare423 pupils, 476 places
Pupils per teacher16.4School workforce census

Lime Academy Abbotsmede is a sponsored academy in Peterborough for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 423 pupils and room for 476. About 42 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 31 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 36% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in June 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Kingsley Road, Peterborough, PE1 5JS01733 566847limeacademyabbotsmede.orgMs Becky Ford headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 9 June 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
As expected
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
22 February 2022Academy First Section 5Good

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

56 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1157%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 30%30%20172018: 48%48%20182019: 53%53%20192023: 46%46%20232024: 51%51%20242025: 57%57%2025
Since 2017: +27%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017†PeterboroughEngland
Pupils tested566154575656
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths57%51%46%53%48%30%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%2%7%5%5%2%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0100.0101.099.0101.096.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0101.0102.0101.0102.098.0104.4104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score101.099.0101.0100.0103.099.0104.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard64%56%57%54%59%34%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard75%61%67%61%66%55%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)71%77%70%67%59%41%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.9-2.7-0.5-1.8
Maths progressMaths progress score+4.5-1.8+1.0+0.3
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged58%47%44%46%40%24%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged57%55%50%58%55%41%

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.

† These results are for Abbotsmede Primary School, the school this one replaced in August 2017. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
58%57%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
41%74%
Gap 33 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
57%57%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full401 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
96% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 Peterborough council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll423Census January 2026
Places47689% full
Pupils from low-income families39%42% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English82%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support19%82 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%13 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.012 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)42%£243,350 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls224 / 199
White British pupils12%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.2 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.2 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (37), language and communications needs (32), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), emotional and mental health (5), Specific learning difficulty (4), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll423454461459437428
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals39%36%39%40%42%41%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language82%77%78%77%76%75%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support16%16%9%11%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%2%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.3%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school21.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.7%6.9%7.0%6.9%4.7%4.8%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.6%4.4%4.6%4.8%3.8%3.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.1%2.5%2.4%2.1%1.0%1.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence21.6%25.3%24.1%22.0%10.8%10.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.40.03.510.81.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers24.6full-time equivalent, 27 people
Pupils per teacher16.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,590
Teachers who left in the year5%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.22024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,765England £7,128. Total £2.9m
Income per pupil£7,756England £7,587. Total £3.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,491England £3,405
Money in reserve33%A lot put by: £1.1m, £2,528 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£426kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,765spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m75212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate152 per 1,000 people67% higher than the England average

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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Thomas More Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy520 m407Good 202413Compare
The King's (The Cathedral) SchoolAcademy690 m1,256Outstanding 202494Compare
Thomas Deacon AcademyAcademy940 m2,256No overall grade 202427Compare
Queen's Drive Infant SchoolCouncil0.6 miles208No overall grade 202531Compare
Bishop Creighton AcademyAcademy0.6 miles203Good 202340Compare
The Beeches Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles619Good 202340Compare
Newark Hill AcademyAcademy0.8 miles435Good 202362Compare
All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolChurch of England0.9 miles418Good 202452Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Lime Academy Abbotsmede with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats36%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 31 is 22 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 54 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 31 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 31% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 18 to 51. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.18
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 56 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%below
-0.12
Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.26
DfE progress measure; 56 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.08
2024/25; 375 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.14
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 56 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Lime Academy Abbotsmede a good school?

The figures are weak. Lime Academy Abbotsmede scores 31 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 36% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 18 to 51, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Lime Academy Abbotsmede's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 9 June 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How good are Lime Academy Abbotsmede's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 57% 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.

How many pupils does Lime Academy Abbotsmede have?

423 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 476 places, so it is 89% full.

Is Lime Academy Abbotsmede oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Lime Academy Abbotsmede?

Pupils were in school 94.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Lime Academy Abbotsmede?

The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Kingsley Road, Peterborough, PE1 5JS
Telephone
01733 566847
Website
limeacademyabbotsmede.org
Headteacher
Ms Becky Ford
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Lime Trust (9 schools)
Local authority
Peterborough
Ward
East
Constituency
Peterborough
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 August 2017 (new provision)
URN
144597 · LAESTAB 8742009 · UKPRN 10063717
Formerly
Abbotsmede Primary School

Where these figures come from