School Chooser

Prestley Wood Academy

Special · ages 4-19MixedFree school97 pupilsCambridgeshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Attendance92.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families40%Far more than most schools
Places53 spare97 pupils, 150 places
Pupils per teacher6.5School workforce census
Pupils on roll97Census January 2026

Prestley Wood Academy is a special free school in Alconbury Weald for boys and girls aged 4 to 19. It has 97 pupils and room for 150. About 40 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Windsor Road, Alconbury Weald, PE28 4BL01480 710036prestleywood.org.ukMrs Caroline Place headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2024: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

4 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.

Reached the expected level at 11–Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level–Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score–Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score–Official name: Maths average scaled score
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025CambridgeshireEngland
Pupils tested4––

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

Open to all. There is no entrance test.

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.

Pupils on roll97Census January 2026
Places15065% full
Pupils from low-income families40%40% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English12%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%97 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)38%£51,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls59 / 38
White British pupils72%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (57), Severe learning difficulty (32), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (3), Vision impairment (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025
Pupils on roll9765
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals40%34%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language12%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school24.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.3%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.1%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence24.6%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.0–
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0–

Staff and money

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

Teachers15.0full-time equivalent, 15 people
Pupils per teacher6.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers87%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants36.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,208
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher3.12024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£28,508England £30,720. Total £1.9m
Income per pupil£30,738England £33,526. Total £2.0m
Spent on teachers per pupil£11,785England £11,966
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £131k, £2,023 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£145kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£28,508spent 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 m1112 months to June 2026, mostly other theft
Local crime rate52 per 1,000 people43% lower than the England average
Typical house price£323,946Huntingdonshire

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ermine Street Church AcademyAcademy600 m338Not inspected90Compare
Alconbury CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England1.6 miles207No overall grade 202469Compare
Abbots Ripton CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England1.6 miles103Good 202499Compare
Stukeley Meadows Primary SchoolCouncil2.6 miles371Not inspected21Compare
St John's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy2.7 miles299Report card 202642Compare
Cromwell AcademyAcademy2.7 miles233Report card 202628Compare
St Peter's SchoolAcademy2.7 miles1,506Report card 202626Compare
Huntingdon Primary SchoolCouncil2.9 miles437Good 202441Compare
All schools in CambridgeshireBest primary schools in England

Questions parents ask

Is Prestley Wood Academy a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Prestley Wood Academy yet.

How many pupils does Prestley Wood Academy have?

97 pupils aged 4 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 150 places, so it is 65% full.

What is attendance like at Prestley Wood Academy?

Pupils were in school 92.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

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

Contact and details

Address
Windsor Road, Alconbury Weald, PE28 4BL
Telephone
01480 710036
Website
www.prestleywood.org.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Caroline Place
Type of school
Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 4-19
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
Horizons Education Trust (3 schools)
Local authority
Cambridgeshire
Ward
The Stukeleys
Constituency
Huntingdon
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2024 (academy free school)
URN
150791 · LAESTAB 8737013 · UKPRN 10095880
Official recordGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from