Lantern Community Primary School
Nene Road, Ely, CB6 2WL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MERIDIAN TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Axten-Higgs
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Meridian Trust
- Constituency
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 444
- Pupils on roll
- 448
- URN
- 145804
- Local authority
- Cambridgeshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01353664174
About this school
Lantern Community Primary School is a primary academy in Ely. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 448 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 October 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 53 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 72% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 83% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 81% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 81% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Lantern Community 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 | 67% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 55.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 397 |
| 2023/24 | 407 |
| 2024/25 | 400 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Lantern Community Primary School compares
Lantern Community Primary School ranked 139th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54% | 4.2% | 11.3% | 448 | — |
| Isle of Ely Primary School | 71% | 4.5% | 9.6% | 446 | 0.3 miles |
| Spring Meadow Infant School | — | 6.5% | 37.1% | 143 | 0.7 miles |
| Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School | 61% | 5% | 35% | 226 | 0.7 miles |
| Ely St John's Community Primary School | 68% | 4.4% | 11% | 371 | 1.0 miles |
| Downham Feoffees Primary Academy | 61% | 3.9% | 13.4% | 150 | 2.0 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)
- 11.25%
- English as an additional language
- 8.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.17%
- Persistent absence
- 9.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Isle of Ely Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Spring Meadow Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Ely St John's Community Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Ely
-
Downham Feoffees Primary Academy2.0 miles
Primary · Ely
Other schools in Ely
Lantern Community Primary School ranks 14th 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
- 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
- Spring Meadow Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Lantern Community Primary School teach?
- Lantern Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Ely.
- Who is the headteacher of Lantern Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Lantern Community Primary School is Mr Chris Axten-Higgs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Lantern Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lantern Community 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 big is Lantern Community Primary School?
- Lantern Community Primary School has 448 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Lantern Community Primary School full?
- Lantern Community Primary School has capacity for 444 pupils and 448 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Lantern Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Lantern Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Lantern Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Lantern Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Lantern Community Primary School?
- Lantern Community Primary School 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 Lantern Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 54% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Lantern Community Primary School rank locally?
- Lantern Community Primary School ranked 139th of 195 primary schools in Cambridgeshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Lantern Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Lantern Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lantern Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lantern Community 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 10 July 2026.