Orchards Church of England Academy
Cherry Road, Wisbech, PE13 3NP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- GRACE SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Dr Damien Homden
- Diocese
- Diocese of Ely
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Grace Schools
- Constituency
- North East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 384
- URN
- 143836
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01945583799
About this school
Orchards Church of England Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Wisbech. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 384 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. 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 | 66 | 57 | 54 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 26% | 39% | 49% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 36% | 54% | 59% |
| Expected standard in maths | 41% | 49% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 39% | 51% | 52% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 97.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 98.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
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 Orchards Church of England 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 | 26% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 39% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 49% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 418 |
| 2023/24 | 400 |
| 2024/25 | 401 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orchards Church of England Academy compares
Orchards Church of England Academy ranked 151st of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49% | 8.6% | 53.9% | 384 | — |
| Clarkson Infants School | — | 6.2% | 30.2% | 187 | 0.6 miles |
| St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School | 54% | 7.5% | 44.6% | 225 | 0.7 miles |
| Peckover Primary School | 45% | 4.6% | 29.6% | 433 | 0.7 miles |
| The Nene Infant & Nursery School | — | 6% | 39.7% | 217 | 1.0 miles |
| Ramnoth Junior School | 57% | 6.3% | 46.6% | 340 | 1.1 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)
- 53.93%
- English as an additional language
- 52.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.62%
- Persistent absence
- 25.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Clarkson Infants School0.6 miles
Primary · Wisbech
-
St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Wisbech
-
Peckover Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Wisbech
-
The Nene Infant & Nursery School1.0 miles
Primary · Wisbech
-
Ramnoth Junior School1.1 miles
Primary · Wisbech
Other schools in Wisbech
Orchards Church of England Academy ranks 14th of the 24 ranked primary schools in Wisbech.
- Alderman Payne Primary School Primary
- Anthony Curton CofE Primary School Primary
- Beaupre Community Primary School Primary
- Clarkson Infants School Primary
- Elm CofE Primary School Primary
- Elm Road Primary School Primary
- Emneth Academy Primary
- Friday Bridge Community Primary School Primary
- Gorefield Primary Academy Primary
- Guyhirn CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Kinderley Primary School Primary
- Leverington Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Orchards Church of England Academy teach?
- Orchards Church of England Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Wisbech.
- Who is the headteacher of Orchards Church of England Academy?
- The headteacher of Orchards Church of England Academy is Dr Damien Homden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Orchards Church of England Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orchards Church of England 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 big is Orchards Church of England Academy?
- Orchards Church of England Academy has 384 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Orchards Church of England Academy full?
- Orchards Church of England Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 384 on roll (91%), 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 Orchards Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Orchards Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Ely.
- Does Orchards Church of England Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Orchards Church of England Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Orchards Church of England Academy?
- Orchards Church of England Academy is part of GRACE SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Orchards Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 26% in 2022/23 and 49% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Orchards Church of England Academy rank locally?
- Orchards Church of England Academy ranked 151st of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Orchards Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Orchards Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Orchards Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Orchards Church of England 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 10 July 2026.