Ely College
Downham Road, Ely, CB6 2SH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MERIDIAN TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Warburton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Meridian Trust
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,635
- URN
- 143404
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01353667763
About this school
Ely College is a secondary academy in Ely. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,635 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 26 March 2025, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 | 211 | 248 | 284 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.0 | 52.3 | 49.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.39 +0.19 to +0.58 | +0.65 +0.47 to +0.83 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 57.7% | 53.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 80.2% | 73.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 50% | 30.6% | 36.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.3 |
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 Ely 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 | 50 | 38.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.3 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.7 | 36.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,556 |
| 2023/24 | 1,628 |
| 2024/25 | 1,649 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ely College compares
Ely College ranked 18th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.7 | 7.7% | 16% | 1,635 | — |
| Witchford Village College | 44.5 | 9.8% | 26.2% | 804 | 2.2 miles |
| Vista Academy Littleport | 38.8 | 8.9% | 29.3% | 547 | 4.2 miles |
| Soham Village College | 51.2 | 7.2% | 19% | 1,436 | 6.3 miles |
| Cottenham Village College | 52 | 8.4% | 17.6% | 860 | 10.2 miles |
| Neale-Wade Academy | 34.8 | 10% | 38.4% | 1,130 | 11.5 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)
- 15.97%
- English as an additional language
- 3.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.71%
- Persistent absence
- 18.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Witchford Village College2.2 miles
Secondary · Ely
-
Vista Academy Littleport4.2 miles
Secondary · Ely
-
Soham Village College6.3 miles
Secondary · Ely
-
Cottenham Village College10.2 miles
Secondary · Cambridge
-
Neale-Wade Academy11.5 miles
Secondary · March
Other schools in Ely
- Soham Village College Secondary
- Vista Academy Littleport Secondary
- Witchford Village College Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Ely College teach?
- Ely College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ely.
- Who is the headteacher of Ely College?
- The headteacher of Ely College is Mr Simon Warburton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ely College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ely 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 big is Ely College?
- Ely College has 1,635 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ely College full?
- Ely College has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,635 on roll (99%), 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 Ely College a faith school?
- No. Ely College has no designated religious character.
- Is Ely College a selective school?
- No. Ely College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ely College?
- Ely College 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 Ely College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50 in 2022/23 and 49.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ely College rank locally?
- Ely College ranked 18th of 34 secondary schools in Cambridgeshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ely College's absence rate?
- Ely College's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ely College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ely 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 2 July 2026.