Coleridge Community College Review 2026: Structured, community-focused secondary in Cambridge

An 08:30 start, a clear house structure, and a consistent emphasis on conduct set the tone here. Coleridge Community College serves students aged 11 to 16 and is part of United Learning, having joined the trust in September 2019.

Leadership is stable, with Mr Matt Oughton as Principal and a named senior team spanning behaviour, inclusion, and curriculum leadership. The latest Ofsted inspection, published on 22 January 2025, confirmed the school has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at its previous inspection.

Academically, the data points to broadly average attainment with stronger progress. An Attainment 8 score of 45.9 sits in line with the England average of 45.9, while a Progress 8 score of 0.23 indicates students make above-average progress from their starting points.

The day-to-day offer is bigger than lessons alone. Enrichment includes music pathways such as Taiko Drumming, steel pans ensembles, orchestras and choir, alongside clubs like Axiom Maths, DT/Engineering, and Pride Club. Trips range from theatre visits and outdoor activities to overseas geography and history travel.

The school presents itself as values-led, with a simple set of statements used repeatedly across the site and embedded into house points and recognition. The published values are framed as ambition, caring, integrity, and contribution, with each broken down into specific habits such as determination, inclusion, and decency.

A house system is a major organising feature. Attenborough, Clarke, Davies, and Taylor act as the main vertical communities, with points awarded not only for competitions but also for classroom effort. The practical implication is that students are given frequent, low-friction ways to belong, while staff have a consistent mechanism for reinforcing routines and effort across year groups.

Expectations are explicit. The school day page is unusually precise about punctuality, including the point at which a student is classed as late. That level of specificity tends to suit families who value clarity and consistent routines, particularly for students who benefit from predictable structures.

The Principal’s welcome sets the tone as academically serious and conduct-focused, with repeated emphasis on learning, high expectations, and a calm working culture. It also flags relationships with parents and carers as a priority area, which matters because school-home alignment is often where secondary schools either thrive or struggle.

A final piece of context is the site itself. The original building is widely described as dating from the late 1930s, with later phases of investment and reorganisation tied to broader local partnerships and trust arrangements. For families, this matters less as “heritage” and more as a sign that the school has had multiple chapters and has had to keep adapting.

This is an 11 to 16 school, so the headline performance lens is GCSE and Key Stage 4 measures rather than A-level outcomes.

FindMySchool ranking context (based on official data)

Ranked 1508th in England and 20th in Cambridge for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool proprietary ranking). This places the school in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is broadly typical performance in national terms.

Looking at the underlying metrics:

• Attainment 8: 45.9, in line with the England average of 45.9.

• Progress 8: 0.23, indicating above-average progress from students’ starting points.

• EBacc APS: 4.31 versus an England average of 4.08, suggesting a comparatively stronger profile in the subjects that sit within the EBacc suite.

What this means in practice is that the school’s value-add looks healthier than the raw attainment headline. For parents, that often translates to a setting where the “middle” of the cohort is moved forward effectively, not just the highest prior-attainers. It is also consistent with a culture that focuses heavily on routines, homework completion, and attendance, because those factors tend to drive progress measures.

One caution: the available public dataset here does not include a full spread of grade distribution (for example, 9 to 7 or 9 to 5 rates), so it is better to read these outcomes as “typical attainment, stronger progress” rather than as a top-end grades story.

For families comparing local options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and comparison features are useful for seeing nearby schools side-by-side using the same measures, rather than mixing different sources and reporting years.

The curriculum messaging is framed around “core knowledge” and preparation for later life, with an explicit intent to support cognitive development and personal growth. The practical takeaway is a traditional secondary model: a broad Key Stage 3, then a Key Stage 4 programme shaped by options and intervention.

Reading is treated as a whole-school priority, with a morning Tutor Time Reading programme referenced in multiple places, and a library programme designed to support both reading skill and reading choice. The library page highlights targeted resources for struggling readers (including Barrington Stoke titles) and structured initiatives such as the CCC Top 50 Reading Challenge, where students complete book-related tasks to earn house points.

Intervention appears in a practical, recognisable form in the enrichment timetable. Rather than relying only on “extra help” language, the published programme includes sessions such as GCSE Art/Photography catch-up and GCSE PE. That signals a school that uses timetable-adjacent time to close gaps and secure coursework-heavy grades, which can make a real difference at Key Stage 4.

The latest inspection evidence also points to specific improvement focus areas: literacy support for some pupils who need it, and attendance, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Those are not minor details, because they indicate where the school expects to spend leadership time and resources.

Where Students Go Next

With no sixth form, progression at 16 is central to the school’s careers and guidance work. The post-16 page sets out the expectation that all students remain in education or training to 18, and lists the routes students are supported to explore, including academic and vocational options, sixth forms, colleges, universities, and apprenticeships.

The same page lists a range of post-16 providers students are signposted towards, including Cambridge Maths School, Cambridge Regional College, Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Hills Road Sixth Form, Long Road Sixth Form, and others. The implication for families is that guidance is designed around choice rather than a single “default” destination, which matters in a city where post-16 routes can be highly specialised.

In the most recent Ofsted inspection evidence, the narrative confirms that most students move on to sixth form or further education, supported by careers education.

Because the published destination figures are not populated here, it is better to evaluate destination quality through three practical questions:

1. How early options and post-16 planning starts in Year 9 and Year 10.

2. Whether students get meaningful encounters with providers, including technical routes.

3. How well subject advice aligns with GCSE choices and the entry requirements of local sixth forms and colleges.

Coleridge is a state school with no tuition fees. Entry at Year 7 is coordinated through Cambridgeshire County Council rather than direct application to the school. The school’s published admission number is 120.

Demand picture

For the latest available reception-to-secondary transfer cycle the Year 7 route shows 220 applications for 119 offers, a subscription proportion of 1.85, and an oversubscribed status. In plain terms, there are roughly two applications for every place. That level of competition does not mean admission is impossible, but it does mean families should be realistic about how oversubscription criteria will be applied in practice.

Key dates for September 2026 entry (Cambridgeshire)

The county’s published timetable states that if families applied by 31 October 2025, they can view their allocation via the portal on 02 March 2026, with allocations sent by post on 24 April 2026. Late applications have a separate process and deadlines.

Separately, the school’s admissions policy reiterates the national closing date of 31 October for on-time applications and references national offer timing.

For in-year admissions, the school indicates it aims for a fifteen school day turnaround once the application and documents are received. This is useful for families moving into Cambridge mid-year, but outcomes depend on year-group capacity at the point of application.

A practical tip: families considering multiple Cambridge secondaries should treat admissions as a process, not a single form. Read each school’s oversubscription criteria carefully, and use mapping tools to understand how distance-based tie-breaks can work in practice.

Pastoral leadership is visible in the published staffing structure, with roles such as a mental health lead and student welfare staff listed, alongside an interim SENDCo and inclusion leadership. That matters because pastoral care in secondary settings is often only as effective as the operational clarity behind it, which includes who owns attendance, safeguarding triage, and SEND coordination.

Attendance is an explicit focus area in the latest inspection evidence, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. For families, the implication is twofold: first, there is likely to be a tightening of systems and expectations around attendance; second, families should ask how support is structured for students whose absence is linked to anxiety, medical needs, or complex family circumstances.

Safeguarding is presented clearly in the latest inspection evidence, and Ofsted stated that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Extracurricular life here is organised with intent rather than left to ad hoc volunteering. The published enrichment timetable includes both lunchtime and after-school options, with clear year-group ranges and named activities.

Music and performance pathways

The programme lists ensembles such as VOX (Choir), multiple orchestras (including PFO1 and PFO3), and themed groups including Taiko Drumming and steel pans ensembles with distinctive names like Frying Pans, Pandemonium, and Steel Pandits. There is also a music tech club and structured band rehearsals. The implication is that music is not a single “club” but a layered offer, which suits students who want continuity and progression across years.

Academic and creative enrichment

Clubs include Axiom Maths for younger year groups, a Creative Writing Club, Carnegie Shadowers Reading Club, and a Science Paper Society for Year 11. These are valuable because they connect enrichment to academic identity, not only to sport or performance.

STEM and making

DT/Engineering appears both at lunchtime and after school, signalling repeated access rather than a short-term project. When schools provide this sort of repeated “making time”, students who learn best through practical work often engage more deeply with the theoretical side in lessons.

Belonging and student voice

Pride Club is explicitly listed, which is a concrete signal of inclusion structures beyond general statements. Tabletop Hobby Club and Dungeons and Dragons also serve a quiet but important function: they provide social belonging for students who may not connect through sport.

Trips are broad and sometimes ambitious. The trips page lists Key Stage 4 experiences including geography fieldwork in Iceland, a history trip to Berlin, and history trips to First World War battlefields, alongside ski travel to Italy and a Personal Best Week that includes activities such as Thorpe Park, climbing, and cultural visits. Trips are not just “nice extras”; they often become the moments that reframe school for students who find classroom-only learning limiting.

The core school day runs from Tutor Time at 08:30 through to 15:00, with an additional Period 7 for Year 11 running to 15:50. Term dates are published well in advance, including the pattern for September start in 2026, with a Year 7-only start day followed by all students the next day.

Reading support and study space is operationalised through the library, which publishes opening hours of 08:00 to 16:30, plus homework club timings across the week.

For travel, the school is described as a short walk from Cambridge train station and has on-site parking, with additional parking possible in nearby streets. Cambridge’s strong cycling culture is relevant here, and the school explicitly references ample cycle parking.

Wraparound care is not typical for secondary schools, and the published pages do not set out a breakfast club or after-school care model in the primary-school sense. Families who need supervised early drop-off or late collection should check directly with the school for the most current arrangements.

• Competition for Year 7 places. With 220 applications for 119 offers cycle and an oversubscribed status, entry can be a constraint for some families. Treat the oversubscription criteria and tie-breaks as essential reading before you set expectations.

• Attendance and literacy are improvement priorities. The latest inspection evidence highlights attendance for some groups and targeted literacy support as areas where the school is still strengthening practice. Families may want to ask what has changed since 2024 and what support looks like day-to-day.

• No sixth form. Students transfer at 16, which can be positive for those who want a fresh start or specialist post-16 routes, but it does add an extra transition point for families to plan for.

• A structured culture will not suit every child. Clear routines and high expectations can be a strong fit for many students, but some children prefer a looser culture and may need time to adjust to a tightly specified day.

Coleridge Community College is a mainstream Cambridge secondary that blends typical national attainment with stronger-than-average progress. The school’s identity is built around consistent routines, a clear values framework, and a practical approach to enrichment, from steel pans and orchestras to DT/Engineering and academic clubs.

It is best suited to families who want clarity on expectations, steady academic movement from starting points, and an 11 to 16 model that prepares students for a wide range of post-16 providers across the Cambridge area. The main trade-off is that families must plan for a post-16 transition and should engage early with attendance and literacy support structures if those are relevant to their child.