The Centre School
High Street, Cottenham, Cambridge, CB24 8UA
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ASTREA ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sue Raven
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Astrea Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 130
- Pupils on roll
- 137
- URN
- 137594
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01954288789
About this school
The Centre School is a special academy in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 137 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Centre 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
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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 15 | 24 | 34 |
| Attainment 8 score | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.64 -3.44 to -1.84 | -2.58 -3.26 to -1.91 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
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 The Centre 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 | 1.3 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 1.5 | 36.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 24.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 22.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 22.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 126 |
| 2023/24 | 134 |
| 2024/25 | 137 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 65.04%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 22.78%
- Persistent absence
- 55.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hope Tree School2.0 miles
Special schools · Cambridgeshire
-
The Martin Bacon Academy2.4 miles
Free Schools · Northstowe
-
The Cavendish School2.6 miles
Free Schools · Impington
-
Gretton School3.1 miles
Special schools · Cambridge
-
Red Balloon Learner Centre - Cambridge3.1 miles
Independent schools · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
- Castle School, Cambridge Special schools
- Granta School Special schools
- Gretton School Special schools
- Holme Court School Special schools
- OA - Cambridge Academies
- Papworth Hall School Special schools
- Pilgrim Pathways School Local authority maintained schools
- Selwyn Hall School Special schools
- Brunswick Nursery School Nursery
- Colleges Nursery School Nursery
- Histon Early Years Centre Nursery
- Homerton Early Years Centre Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does The Centre School teach?
- The Centre School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Cambridge.
- Who is the headteacher of The Centre School?
- The headteacher of The Centre School is Mrs Sue Raven, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Centre School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Centre 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 The Centre School?
- The Centre School has 137 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Centre School full?
- The Centre School has capacity for 130 pupils and 137 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 The Centre School a faith school?
- No. The Centre School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Centre School part of an academy trust?
- The Centre School is part of ASTREA ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Centre School have?
- The schools register lists The Centre School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Centre School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 1.3 in 2022/23 and 1.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is The Centre School's absence rate?
- The Centre School's overall absence rate is 22.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Centre School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Centre 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 1 July 2026.