Buckden CofE Primary School
School Lane, Buckden, St Neots, PE19 5TT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- ACT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Michelle Heather
- Diocese
- Diocese of Ely
- Sponsor
- Buckden Church of England Primary School
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, 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
- Constituency
- Huntingdon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 350
- Pupils on roll
- 331
- URN
- 137639
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01480810241
About this school
Buckden CofE Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in St Neots. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 331 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Buckden 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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 | 54 | 52 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 52% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 81% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 71% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 81% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.20 | - | - |
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 Buckden 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 | 63% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 327 |
| 2023/24 | 341 |
| 2024/25 | 328 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Buckden CofE Primary School compares
Buckden CofE Primary School ranked 129th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 4.5% | 12.2% | 331 | — |
| Offord Primary School | 68% | 5.3% | 19.3% | 95 | 1.6 miles |
| Brampton Village Primary School | 53% | 4.9% | 23% | 609 | 2.0 miles |
| Great Paxton CofE Primary School | 65% | 5% | 13.6% | 73 | 2.5 miles |
| Cromwell Academy | 63% | 4.6% | 23.5% | 233 | 3.3 miles |
| Little Paxton Primary School | 28% | 4.7% | 16% | 292 | 3.3 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)
- 12.2%
- English as an additional language
- 5.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.48%
- Persistent absence
- 8.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Offord Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · St Neots
-
Brampton Village Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Huntingdon
-
Great Paxton CofE Primary School2.5 miles
Primary · St Neots
-
Cromwell Academy3.3 miles
Primary · Huntingdon
-
Little Paxton Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · St. Neots
Other schools in St Neots
Buckden CofE Primary School ranks 9th of the 12 ranked primary schools in St Neots.
- 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
- The Newton Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Buckden CofE Primary School teach?
- Buckden CofE Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in St Neots.
- Who is the headteacher of Buckden CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of Buckden CofE Primary School is Mrs Michelle Heather, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Buckden CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Buckden 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 Buckden CofE Primary School?
- Buckden CofE Primary School has 331 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Buckden CofE Primary School full?
- Buckden CofE Primary School has capacity for 350 pupils and 331 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Buckden CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Buckden CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Ely.
- Does Buckden CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Buckden CofE Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Buckden CofE Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Buckden CofE Primary School is part of ACT MULTI 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 Buckden CofE Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Buckden CofE Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; 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. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Buckden CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Buckden CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- Buckden CofE Primary School ranked 129th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Buckden CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- Buckden CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Buckden CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Buckden 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 1 July 2026.