Sawston Village College
New Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3BP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ANGLIAN LEARNING
- Principal
- Mr Jonathan Russell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Anglian Learning
- Constituency
- South Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,140
- Pupils on roll
- 1,198
- URN
- 136775
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01223712777
About this school
Sawston Village College is a secondary academy in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,198 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sawston Village College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 May 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 237 | 206 | 238 |
| Attainment 8 score | 58.3 | 60.3 | 55.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.73 +0.55 to +0.92 | +0.87 +0.67 to +1.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 64% | 72.8% | 61.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 83.5% | 75.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 47% | 55.3% | 53.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.2 |
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 Sawston Village College 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 | 58.3 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 60.3 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.5 | 36.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,171 |
| 2023/24 | 1,162 |
| 2024/25 | 1,194 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sawston Village College compares
Sawston Village College ranked 7th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.5 | 7.5% | 16.2% | 1,198 | — |
| Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology | 56.8 | 7.4% | 22.2% | 455 | 3.4 miles |
| The Netherhall School | 45.5 | 10.1% | 30.2% | 1,259 | 3.8 miles |
| Trumpington Community College | 50.4 | 8.3% | 38.9% | 613 | 4.2 miles |
| St Bede's Inter-Church School | 61.6 | 6.8% | 16% | 943 | 4.4 miles |
| Coleridge Community College | 55.1 | 8.9% | 38.9% | 553 | 4.6 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)
- 16.16%
- English as an additional language
- 12.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.54%
- Persistent absence
- 17.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology3.4 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
The Netherhall School3.8 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Trumpington Community College4.2 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
St Bede's Inter-Church School4.4 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Coleridge Community College4.6 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
Sawston Village College ranks 7th of the 17 ranked secondary schools in Cambridge.
- Bottisham Village College Secondary
- Cambourne Village College Secondary
- Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology Secondary
- Chesterton Community College Secondary
- Coleridge Community College Secondary
- Comberton Village College Secondary
- Cottenham Village College Secondary
- Impington Village College Secondary
- Linton Village College Secondary
- North Cambridge Academy Secondary
- Parkside Community College Secondary
- St Bede's Inter-Church School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Sawston Village College teach?
- Sawston Village College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Cambridge.
- Who is the principal of Sawston Village College?
- The principal of Sawston Village College is Mr Jonathan Russell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sawston Village College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sawston Village College, 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 Sawston Village College?
- Sawston Village College has 1,198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Sawston Village College full?
- Sawston Village College has capacity for 1,140 pupils and 1,198 on roll (105%), so it is at or above 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 Sawston Village College a faith school?
- No. Sawston Village College has no designated religious character.
- Is Sawston Village College a selective school?
- No. Sawston Village College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Sawston Village College part of an academy trust?
- Sawston Village College is part of ANGLIAN LEARNING. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sawston Village College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 58.3 in 2022/23 and 55.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sawston Village College compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- Sawston Village College ranked 7th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 88% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sawston Village College's absence rate?
- Sawston Village College's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sawston Village College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sawston Village College'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 1 July 2026.