Samuel Pepys School
Cromwell Road, St Neots, PE19 2EZ
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Joanne Hardwick
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 165
- Pupils on roll
- 138
- URN
- 110951
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01480375012
About this school
Samuel Pepys School is a community special school in St Neots. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 138 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Samuel Pepys 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 4 December 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 10 | 7 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | 97.0 | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Samuel Pepys 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 | 0% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 119 |
| 2023/24 | 123 |
| 2024/25 | 124 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.37%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.28%
- Persistent absence
- 28.97%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Riverside Meadows Academy0.6 miles
Academies · St. Neots
-
Papworth Hall School6.1 miles
Special schools · Cambridge
-
Cambian Walnut Tree Lodge School7.3 miles
Special schools · Bedford
-
Kimbolton School7.5 miles
Independent schools · Huntingdon
-
OneSchool Global UK - Biggleswade Campus8.3 miles
Independent schools · Biggleswade
Other schools in St Neots
- Buckden CofE Primary School Primary
- Bushmead Primary School Primary
- Crosshall Infant School Primary
- Crosshall Junior School Primary
- Eynesbury CofE C Primary School Primary
- Great Paxton CofE Primary School Primary
- Great Staughton Primary Academy Primary
- Middlefield Primary Academy Primary
- Offord Primary School Primary
- Priory Junior School Primary
- Priory Park Infant School & Pre-School Primary
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School St Neots Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Samuel Pepys School teach?
- Samuel Pepys School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in St Neots.
- Who is the headteacher of Samuel Pepys School?
- The headteacher of Samuel Pepys School is Ms Joanne Hardwick, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Samuel Pepys School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Samuel Pepys 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 Samuel Pepys School?
- Samuel Pepys School has 138 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Samuel Pepys School full?
- Samuel Pepys School has capacity for 165 pupils and 138 on roll (84%), 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 Samuel Pepys School a faith school?
- No. Samuel Pepys School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Samuel Pepys School have?
- The schools register lists Samuel Pepys School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Samuel Pepys School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Samuel Pepys School's absence rate?
- Samuel Pepys School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Samuel Pepys School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Samuel Pepys 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.