Cottenham Primary School
Lambs Lane, Cottenham, Cambridge, CB24 8TA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr James Kilsby
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 471
- URN
- 110604
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01954250227
About this school
Cottenham Primary School is a community primary school in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 471 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 79 | 74 | 73 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 72% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 14% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 80% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 80% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Cottenham Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cambridgeshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 479 |
| 2023/24 | 481 |
| 2024/25 | 480 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cottenham Primary School compares
Cottenham Primary School ranked 102nd of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 4.5% | 19.6% | 471 | — |
| Histon and Impington Park Primary School | 85% | 4.5% | 15.1% | 425 | 2.0 miles |
| Histon and Impington Brook Primary School | 90% | 3.9% | 9.6% | 408 | 2.4 miles |
| Pathfinder CofE Primary School | 65% | 5.4% | 21.7% | 471 | 2.8 miles |
| Oakington CofE Primary School | 72% | 4.2% | 27.5% | 98 | 2.8 miles |
| Hatton Park Primary School | 68% | 4.3% | 10.6% | 380 | 3.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.58%
- English as an additional language
- 12.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.45%
- Persistent absence
- 8.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Histon and Impington Park Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Histon and Impington Brook Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Pathfinder CofE Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Oakington CofE Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Hatton Park Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
Cottenham Primary School ranks 49th of the 76 ranked primary schools in Cambridge.
- Arbury Primary School Primary
- Babraham CofE (VC) Primary School Primary
- Bar Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Barrington CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Barton CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Bewick Bridge Community Primary School Primary
- Bottisham Community Primary School Primary
- Bourn CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Burwell Village College (Primary) Primary
- Caldecote Primary School Primary
- Castle Camps Church of England (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Cherry Hinton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Cottenham Primary School teach?
- Cottenham Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Cambridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Cottenham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cottenham Primary School is Mr James Kilsby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Cottenham Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cottenham Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Cottenham Primary School?
- Cottenham Primary School has 471 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Cottenham Primary School full?
- Cottenham Primary School has capacity for 600 pupils and 471 on roll (79%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Cottenham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Cottenham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Cottenham Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Cottenham Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Cottenham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cottenham Primary School rank locally?
- Cottenham Primary School ranked 102nd of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cottenham Primary School's absence rate?
- Cottenham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cottenham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cottenham Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.