Holywell CofE Primary School
Mill Way, Needingworth, St Ives, PE27 4TF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Head of School
- Mr Paul Baddeley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Ely
- Constituency
- Huntingdon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 193
- URN
- 110817
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01480462007
About this school
Holywell CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in St Ives. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 193 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holywell CofE 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- 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 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 78% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 89% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 85% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 89% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
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 Holywell CofE 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 | 67% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 205 |
| 2023/24 | 200 |
| 2024/25 | 199 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holywell CofE Primary School compares
Holywell CofE Primary School ranked 88th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 4.7% | 12.1% | 193 | — |
| Eastfield Infant and Nursery School | — | 4.4% | 20% | 211 | 1.7 miles |
| Westfield Junior School | 48% | 4.4% | 23.9% | 234 | 1.8 miles |
| Wheatfields Primary School | 57% | 4.1% | 16.1% | 287 | 1.9 miles |
| Fen Drayton Primary School | 58% | 4% | 13.3% | 92 | 2.0 miles |
| Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School | 35% | 6% | 17.8% | 229 | 2.2 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)
- 12.06%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 4.67%
- Persistent absence
- 9.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Eastfield Infant and Nursery School1.7 miles
Primary · St Ives
-
Westfield Junior School1.8 miles
Primary · St Ives
-
Wheatfields Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · St Ives
-
Fen Drayton Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Cambridge
-
Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Huntingdon
Other schools in St Ives
- Eastfield Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Thorndown Primary School Primary
- Westfield Junior School Primary
- Wheatfields Primary School Primary
- St Ivo Academy Secondary
- Aurora Fairway School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Holywell CofE Primary School teach?
- Holywell CofE Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in St Ives.
- Who is the head of school of Holywell CofE Primary School?
- The head of school of Holywell CofE Primary School is Mr Paul Baddeley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holywell CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holywell CofE 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 Holywell CofE Primary School?
- Holywell CofE Primary School has 193 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Holywell CofE Primary School full?
- Holywell CofE Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 193 on roll (92%), 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 Holywell CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Holywell CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Ely.
- Does Holywell CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Holywell CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Holywell CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holywell CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- Holywell CofE Primary School ranked 88th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holywell CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- Holywell CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holywell CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holywell CofE 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.