North Cambridge Academy
Arbury Road, Kings Hedges, Cambridge, CB4 2JF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MERIDIAN TRUST
- Principal
- Miss Jane Driver
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Meridian Trust
- Constituency
- Cambridge
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 687
- URN
- 139401
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01223491500
About this school
North Cambridge Academy is a secondary academy in Cambridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 687 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected North Cambridge Academy, 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 February 2025, 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 104 | 128 | 125 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.3 | 46.7 | 43.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.36 +0.07 to +0.65 | +0.19 -0.07 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 38.3% | 35.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 58.6% | 51.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 16% | 20.3% | 16% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
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 North Cambridge Academy 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 | 48.3 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.7 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.9 | 36.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 677 |
| 2023/24 | 685 |
| 2024/25 | 689 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How North Cambridge Academy compares
North Cambridge Academy ranked 26th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.9 | 10.1% | 50.4% | 687 | — |
| Chesterton Community College | 68 | 5.5% | 17.5% | 1,126 | 0.7 miles |
| Parkside Community College | 63.5 | 6.2% | 18.6% | 667 | 1.5 miles |
| Impington Village College | 58.6 | 6.6% | 13.9% | 1,446 | 1.6 miles |
| Coleridge Community College | 55.1 | 8.9% | 38.9% | 553 | 2.5 miles |
| St Bede's Inter-Church School | 61.6 | 6.8% | 16% | 943 | 2.8 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)
- 50.36%
- English as an additional language
- 34.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.09%
- Persistent absence
- 27.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chesterton Community College0.7 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Parkside Community College1.5 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Impington Village College1.6 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Coleridge Community College2.5 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
St Bede's Inter-Church School2.8 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
Other schools in Cambridge
North Cambridge Academy ranks 17th 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
- Parkside Community College Secondary
- Sawston Village College Secondary
- St Bede's Inter-Church School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does North Cambridge Academy teach?
- North Cambridge Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Cambridge.
- Who is the principal of North Cambridge Academy?
- The principal of North Cambridge Academy is Miss Jane Driver, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has North Cambridge Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected North Cambridge Academy, 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 North Cambridge Academy?
- North Cambridge Academy has 687 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is North Cambridge Academy full?
- North Cambridge Academy has capacity for 750 pupils and 687 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 North Cambridge Academy a faith school?
- No. North Cambridge Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is North Cambridge Academy a selective school?
- No. North Cambridge Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is North Cambridge Academy part of an academy trust?
- North Cambridge Academy is part of MERIDIAN TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have North Cambridge Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.3 in 2022/23 and 43.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does North Cambridge Academy compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- North Cambridge Academy ranked 26th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is North Cambridge Academy's absence rate?
- North Cambridge Academy's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are North Cambridge Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, North Cambridge Academy'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.