Willingham Primary School
Thodays Close, Willingham, Cambridge, CB24 5LE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Mona Paalanen
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 364
- URN
- 110622
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01954283030
About this school
Willingham Primary School is a community primary school in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 364 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Willingham Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 52 | 45 | 37 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 42% | 51% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 78% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 62% | 58% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 73% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.30 | - | - |
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 Willingham 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 | 44% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 42% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 51% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 342 |
| 2023/24 | 344 |
| 2024/25 | 341 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Willingham Primary School compares
Willingham Primary School ranked 148th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51% | 4.8% | 25.5% | 364 | — |
| Pathfinder CofE Primary School | 65% | 5.4% | 21.7% | 471 | 1.7 miles |
| Over Primary School | 21% | 3.6% | 16.8% | 196 | 1.8 miles |
| Hatton Park Primary School | 68% | 4.3% | 10.6% | 380 | 2.1 miles |
| Swavesey Primary School | 73% | 4.2% | 6.9% | 311 | 2.8 miles |
| Cottenham Primary School | 61% | 4.5% | 19.6% | 471 | 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)
- 25.51%
- English as an additional language
- 11.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.81%
- Persistent absence
- 13.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pathfinder CofE Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Over Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Hatton Park Primary School2.1 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Swavesey Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Cottenham Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
Willingham Primary School ranks 65th 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 ages does Willingham Primary School teach?
- Willingham Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Cambridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Willingham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Willingham Primary School is Miss Mona Paalanen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Willingham Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Willingham 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 many pupils are at Willingham Primary School?
- Willingham Primary School has 364 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Willingham Primary School full?
- Willingham Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 364 on roll (87%), 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 Willingham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Willingham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Willingham Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Willingham Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Willingham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 51% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Willingham Primary School compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- Willingham Primary School ranked 148th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Willingham Primary School's absence rate?
- Willingham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Willingham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Willingham 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.