The Shade Primary School
The Shade, Soham, Ely, CB7 5DE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ANGLIAN LEARNING
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jane Segust
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Anglian Learning
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 250
- URN
- 139555
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01353886880
About this school
The Shade Primary School is a primary academy in Ely. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 250 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Shade 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 | 29 | 29 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 24% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 72% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 59% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 69% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 103.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 101.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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 The Shade 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 | 59% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 24% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 243 |
| 2023/24 | 253 |
| 2024/25 | 267 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Shade Primary School compares
The Shade Primary School ranked 133rd of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 5.3% | 17.3% | 250 | — |
| The Weatheralls Primary School | 44% | 7.7% | 30.9% | 342 | 1.1 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE Primary School | 75% | 5.5% | 16.3% | 461 | 1.7 miles |
| Little Thetford CofE Primary School | 77% | 4.5% | 13.6% | 78 | 3.4 miles |
| Isleham Church of England Primary School | 53% | 5.3% | 11% | 201 | 3.8 miles |
| Fordham CofE Primary School | 62% | 4.9% | 11.6% | 413 | 4.0 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)
- 17.29%
- English as an additional language
- 27%
- Overall absence
- 5.3%
- Persistent absence
- 10.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Weatheralls Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Soham
-
St Andrew's CofE Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Little Thetford CofE Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Isleham Church of England Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Fordham CofE Primary School4.0 miles
Primary · Ely
Other schools in Ely
The Shade Primary School ranks 12th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Ely.
- Downham Feoffees Primary Academy Primary
- Ely St John's Community Primary School Primary
- Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School Primary
- Fordham CofE Primary School Primary
- Isle of Ely Primary School Primary
- Isleham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lantern Community Primary School Primary
- Little Thetford CofE Primary School Primary
- Littleport Community Primary School Primary
- Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Millfield Primary School Primary
- Robert Arkenstall Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Shade Primary School teach?
- The Shade Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Ely.
- Who is the headteacher of The Shade Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Shade Primary School is Mrs Jane Segust, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Shade Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Shade 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 The Shade Primary School?
- The Shade Primary School has 250 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is The Shade Primary School full?
- The Shade Primary School has capacity for 472 pupils and 250 on roll (53%), 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 The Shade Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Shade Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Shade Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Shade Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is The Shade Primary School part of an academy trust?
- The Shade Primary School 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 The Shade Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Shade Primary School compare with other schools in Cambridgeshire?
- The Shade Primary School ranked 133rd of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Shade Primary School's absence rate?
- The Shade Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Shade Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Shade 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.