School Chooser

Samuel Pepys School

Special · ages 3-19MixedCouncil138 pupilsSixth formNurserySt NeotsCambridgeshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance90.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families52%Far more than most schools
Places27 spare138 pupils, 165 places
Pupils per teacher7.1School workforce census
Pupils on roll138Census January 2026

Samuel Pepys School is a council special school in St Neots for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 138 pupils and room for 165. About 52 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Cromwell Road, St Neots, PE19 2EZ01480 375012samuelpepysschool.co.ukMs Joanne Hardwick headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

7 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

15 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 110%
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 scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2019 to 2025
2019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2019: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017CambridgeshireEngland
Pupils tested15710643
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score112.0106.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score97.0104.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score110.0105.2105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%10%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%

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.

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. Every gap at this school is 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
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 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.

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 roll138Census January 2026
Places16584% full
Pupils from low-income families51%52% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%138 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)50%£81,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls87 / 51
White British pupils86%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

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 autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (93), Moderate learning difficulty (31), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (13), Physical disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll138124123119119117
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals51%45%46%45%41%41%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%2%4%4%3%4%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance90.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school29.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence9.3%8.1%8.6%10.3%16.9%9.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence8.8%7.3%8.4%10.1%15.7%7.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.5%0.8%0.2%0.2%1.2%1.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence29.0%21.0%27.0%44.1%64.6%22.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.80.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 6 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training100%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers2018/19 leavers
Still in education, work or training100%86%80%100%
Education100%86%80%100%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%14%20%0%

Staff and money

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

Teachers19.5full-time equivalent, 21 people
Pupils per teacher7.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers95%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants54.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,713
Teachers who left in the year5%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher7.82024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£26,771England £32,258. Total £3.3m
Income per pupil£27,487England £32,367. Total £3.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£10,377England £11,930
Money in reserve8%A healthy amount put by: £284k, £2,294 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£89kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£26,771spent 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 m21412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate68 per 1,000 people25% 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
St Mary's Church of England Primary School St NeotsAcademy180 m68Not inspected16Compare
Winhills Primary AcademyAcademy320 m227Good 202440Compare
Eynesbury CofE C Primary SchoolChurch of England920 m209Good 202448Compare
Priory Park Infant School & Pre-SchoolCouncil940 m170Good 202363Compare
Riverside Meadows AcademyAcademy1000 m120Report card 2026Compare
Priory Junior SchoolCouncil0.6 miles280Good 20229Compare
Longsands AcademyAcademy0.6 miles1,412Good 202461Compare
Middlefield Primary AcademyAcademy0.8 miles200No overall grade 202566Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Samuel Pepys School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Samuel Pepys School yet.

How good are Samuel Pepys 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 Samuel Pepys School have?

138 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 165 places, so it is 84% full.

What is attendance like at Samuel Pepys School?

Pupils were in school 90.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 29% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Samuel Pepys School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Samuel Pepys 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
Cromwell Road, St Neots, PE19 2EZ
Telephone
01480 375012
Website
www.samuelpepysschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Ms Joanne Hardwick
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Cambridgeshire
Ward
St Neots Eynesbury
Constituency
St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
110951 · LAESTAB 8737023 · UKPRN 10017555

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from