Sawston Village College
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Sawston Village College is a converter academy in Cambridge for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,198 pupils, 58 more than it has places for. About 17 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 86 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP01223 712777sawstonvc.orgMr Jonathan Russell principalAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 5 May 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
238 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 | 238 | 206 | 237 | 209 | 210 | 209 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 55.5 | 60.3 | 58.3 | 58.0 | 56.8 | 57.4 | 49.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.87 | +0.73 | +0.40 | +0.55 | +0.59 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 61% | 73% | 64% | 63% | 62% | 68% | 51% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 75% | 84% | 78% | 80% | 77% | 77% | 69% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 5.18 | 5.60 | 5.44 | 5.41 | 5.30 | 5.39 | 4.48 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 54% | 55% | 47% | 56% | 61% | 59% | 46% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 36.2 | 36.4 | 39.5 | 41.4 | 36.0 | 39.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 59.1 | 63.0 | 60.5 | 60.6 | 59.3 | 60.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 30.5 | 28.4 | 35.6 | 24.9 | 25.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 73.7 | 74.8 | 74.2 | 69.9 | 67.8 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 23 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 238 | 32% | 69% | 82% | 53% | 476 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 238 | 32% | 65% | 76% | 54% | 693 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 233 | 30% | 69% | 78% | 58% | 671 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 152 | 9% | 51% | 72% | 36% | 537 of 3,084 |
| History | 149 | 48% | 74% | 85% | 52% | 391 of 3,126 |
| Art and Design | 93 | 34% | 61% | 80% | 58% | 1,275 of 2,818 |
| Biology | 83 | 74% | 96% | 99% | 82% | 633 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 83 | 72% | 96% | 100% | 81% | 679 of 2,537 |
| Physics | 83 | 64% | 99% | 100% | 82% | 425 of 2,546 |
| Spanish | 71 | 37% | 73% | 89% | 54% | 380 of 1,941 |
| French | 64 | 52% | 73% | 81% | 60% | 597 of 1,974 |
| Design & Technology | 62 | 26% | 63% | 73% | 50% | 414 of 1,478 |
| Geography | 61 | 34% | 67% | 80% | 51% | 537 of 3,116 |
| Computer Science | 55 | 36% | 60% | 73% | 56% | 756 of 1,861 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 54 | 50% | 82% | 94% | 52% | 113 of 1,098 |
| Business | 54 | 17% | 57% | 63% | 51% | 609 of 1,806 |
| Drama | 52 | 23% | 60% | 77% | 60% | 488 of 844 |
| Physical Education | 26 | 27% | 73% | 96% | 56% | 385 of 1,559 |
| German | 25 | 80% | 92% | 96% | 63% | 64 of 571 |
| Music | 17 | 82% | 88% | 100% | 61% | – |
| Religious Studies | 15 | 33% | 73% | 80% | 60% | – |
| Other Modern Languages | 11 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 49% | – |
| Dance | 7 | 29% | 71% | 100% | 58% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
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. 1 of the 3 gaps 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 GCSE, 2025
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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
About 100 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
The last child to get a place lived 3.5 miles away in 2026, 3.9 miles away in 2025, 3.5 miles away in 2024. Those cut-offs are for children living outside the catchment area; every child inside it got a place. Brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups are placed first. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child in the catchment area who applied got a place. Outside the catchment, the last place went to a child living 3.5 miles away.
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 240 | 247 | 358 | 240 | 3.5 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 240 | 270 | 395 | 240 | 3.9 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 240 | 256 | 376 | 244 | 3.5 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2023 Secondary | 240 | 243 | 276 | 240 | 3.5 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 240 | 269 | 299 | 240 | 5.1 miles (feeder school) | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 240 | 265 | 293 | 240 | 3.3 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2020 Secondary | 240 | 229 | 253 | 240 | 4.4 miles (distance, outside the catchment area) | LA |
| 2019 Secondary | 210 | 208 | 223 | 210 | 4.3 miles | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (79), emotional and mental health (78), Autistic spectrum disorder (37), language and communications needs (22), Other difficulty or disability (18), Moderate learning difficulty (9).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,198 | 1,194 | 1,162 | 1,171 | 1,128 | 1,084 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 17% | 16% | 14% | 13% | 11% | 11% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 11% | 12% | 12% | 11% | 10% | 9% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 15% | 14% | 14% | 14% | 15% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.6% | 7.8% | 8.5% | 9.3% | 4.5% | 5.3% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.8% | 5.9% | 6.3% | 7.3% | 3.5% | 4.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.7% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1.1% | 1.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 17.5% | 18.1% | 21.1% | 27.1% | 10.3% | 11.5% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 6.2 | 9.5 | 7.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 237 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 92%, compared with 96% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 95% | 96% | 96% | 97% |
| Education | 89% | 90% | 92% | 89% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 1% | 2% |
| Work | 3% | 4% | 3% | 5% |
| Not in education, work or training | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary 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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology | University technical college | 3.4 miles | 455 | Good 2023 | 73 | Compare |
| The Netherhall School | Academy | 3.8 miles | 1,259 | Good 2024 | 50 | Compare |
| Trumpington Community College | Academy | 4.2 miles | 613 | Good 2023 | 76 | Compare |
| St Bede's Inter-Church School | Academy | 4.4 miles | 943 | Outstanding 2024 | 95 | Compare |
| Coleridge Community College | Academy | 4.6 miles | 553 | Not inspected | 83 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Sawston Village College 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.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Sawston Village College, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impington Village College | Academy | 8.6 miles | 1,446 | No overall grade 2025 | 91 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 86 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 86% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 82 to 90. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | above | +0.20 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 238 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well above | +0.31 | DfE progress measure; 238 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.03 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.06 | 2024/25; 1,216 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | above | +0.10 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 238 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | above | +0.04 | 237 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Sawston Village College a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Sawston Village College scores 86 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 82 to 90, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Sawston Village College's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Sawston Village College good at its last full inspection on 5 May 2023.
How good are Sawston Village College's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 61% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 55.5, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Sawston Village College have?
1,198 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,140 places, so it is 105% full.
Is Sawston Village College oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 3.5 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Sawston Village College?
Pupils were in school 92.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Sawston Village College?
The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 16% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Sawston Village College have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 95% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP
- Telephone
- 01223 712777
- Website
- www.sawstonvc.org
- Principal
- Mr Jonathan Russell
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Anglian Learning (22 schools)
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Ward
- Sawston
- Constituency
- South Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 June 2011 (academy converter)
- URN
- 136775 · LAESTAB 8735408 · UKPRN 10033800
- Formerly
- Sawston Village College
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.
- 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.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Cambridgeshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- 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.