Bassingbourn Village College Review 2026: A village college secondary with strong pastoral culture and clear routines

There is a reassuringly grounded feel to Bassingbourn Village College. It is a small town and village secondary where community matters, and where the day is structured tightly enough to help students settle quickly. The school sits within Anglian Learning, giving it access to trust-wide capacity while keeping a local identity.

The latest Ofsted inspection (25 to 26 April 2023, published 22 June 2023) confirmed the school continues to be Good, with pupils described as proud of their school and confident about safety.

For outcomes, the school’s GCSE performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile) on the FindMySchool ranking for GCSE outcomes, and it ranks 1st locally within the Royston area on that same measure.

Bassingbourn is a genuine “village college” in the historic Cambridgeshire sense, designed to serve a broad local intake rather than an academically selective one. The school marked its 70th anniversary recently, tracing its opening to 1954, with a founding story tied to the post-war expansion of secondary education. That long local role still shows in the emphasis on belonging and participation.

Day-to-day culture is anchored by clear expectations and relational pastoral work. Students are expected in college by 8.50am for mentor time, and the timetable breaks the day into short, consistent teaching blocks, which can help students who benefit from predictability.

Leadership has changed recently. The current Principal is Mr Ian Stoneham, and the school publicly welcomed him as its new Principal in September 2024.

A useful contextual note from the 2023 inspection is that the Principal at that time, Vickey Poulter, had taken up post in 2019, so families may notice that behaviour systems, routines, and staff development have been moving through a handover period across 2024 and 2025.

House identity is more than decorative. The college runs four houses, Hercules, Artemis, Athena, and Atalanta, which appear across transition materials and parent guidance, and help structure inter-house activity and pastoral monitoring.

Bassingbourn Village College is a Year 7 to Year 11 school (ages 11 to 16).

GCSE ranking (FindMySchool)

Ranked 1,843rd in England and 1st in Royston for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places performance broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), rather than at the very top end, but with a comparatively strong local position within its immediate area.

On the headline GCSE measures provided, the Attainment 8 score is 47.8, and Progress 8 is -0.15, which indicates outcomes that are close to average progress overall, with a slight dip below the national benchmark on that value-added measure.

For families, that usually translates into a school where many students do well, but where consistency of classroom delivery matters, because small differences in lesson quality and time use can shift overall progress. This aligns with the improvement points identified in the most recent inspection around matching classroom activities tightly to curriculum goals, and ensuring learning time is used well.

The EBacc picture is mixed in the available data. The average EBacc point score is 4.21, which sits slightly above the England benchmark shown alongside it (4.08). Meanwhile, 14.1% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above across the EBacc measure presented here, suggesting that while some students do well within the EBacc suite, EBacc grade-threshold outcomes are not the defining story of the school’s performance.

The practical implication is that Bassingbourn can suit a wide range of learners, including students whose strengths are not concentrated only in the EBacc subjects, but families with a strongly academic, EBacc-heavy preference may want to probe how options are constructed at Key Stage 4, and how the school supports higher-attaining students to convert strong Year 9 foundations into top GCSE grades.

Parents comparing local schools should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to view GCSE measures side-by-side, especially because “local rank” can look very different depending on which comparator area you choose.

Curriculum intent is clear. Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum, structured so that knowledge builds in sequence, and most teachers use detailed planning to support strong explanations and worked examples. That is the core academic strength described in the most recent inspection evidence.

The quality of teaching, however, is not presented as uniformly consistent. Where classroom tasks finish too quickly, students can end up waiting, which can create low-level disruption and lost learning time. A small number of lessons were also described as using activities or explanations that do not fully secure the “why” behind what students are doing. That distinction matters at GCSE, where performance often hinges on reasoning and application rather than routine completion.

Support for students with additional needs is framed as inclusive rather than separate. Plans are created with families, shared with teachers, and intended to keep students learning the same curriculum as peers with appropriate adaptations. Reading support is also described as targeted for students who need to catch up, which is particularly relevant in a school without a sixth form, because GCSE access depends heavily on reading fluency by Year 9.

Because the school finishes at 16, the key destination question is post-16 progression. The school explicitly frames this around continuing education or training to 18, with most students progressing into further education rather than remaining in a school sixth form.

A distinctive feature is that the school publishes its own historical participation figures (rather than only general statements). In 2019, it reported 103 students (89.6%) continuing in education, with 2 students (1.7%) recorded as NEET in that year, alongside smaller proportions moving into employment or work-based learning routes. These figures are dated, but they help show that the school has paid attention to destination tracking and to keeping NEET numbers low.

The school also notes that the “vast majority” of students progress into colleges within the Cambridgeshire Area Partnership (CAP), each with its own entry criteria. For families, the practical step is to treat Year 11 planning as a transport and timetable decision as well as an academic one, especially if a student is likely to choose a specialist course offered at a particular college rather than the nearest provider.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through the family’s home local authority, and the school highlights the national closing date of 31 October for on-time applications in the normal admissions round.

For September 2026 entry specifically, Cambridgeshire’s published timeline states that allocations can be viewed online on 02 March 2026 for on-time applicants, with late applications (submitted from 01 November 2025) needing to be received by 31 March 2026.

In practice, that means families should treat autumn term of Year 6 as the decisive window, and avoid relying on late applications unless they are comfortable with fewer available options.

Open events appear to follow an early-autumn pattern. For example, the school advertised an Open Evening on 18 September 2025 and morning tours across late September and early October. Families applying in future cycles should expect open events broadly in that window, and confirm dates on the school’s calendar each year.

If you are assessing whether your address is realistically placed for admission, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check your precise distance and likely transport routes. Even in areas without a simple “circle” catchment, small geography differences can matter.

Pastoral strength is a clear theme in the available evidence. Students are described as understanding the importance of looking after one another, and bullying is described as rare and dealt with well when it occurs.

The school’s personal development programme is positioned as explicit and structured, covering tolerance, the rule of law, and contribution to community life. The Ofsted evidence also points to a careers programme running from Year 7, which matters in an 11 to 16 setting because students begin making option and post-16 choices earlier than families sometimes expect.

The second wellbeing lever is consistency of behaviour routines. Most staff are described as applying an agreed system, but a small number are not consistent, which can allow distraction to continue longer than it should. For parents, the key question at an open event is how the school is tightening that last mile, coaching staff consistency, and resetting routines for each new cohort.

The inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Extracurricular life is unusually transparent because the school publishes a weekly club timetable, showing what runs and when. This helps families judge whether enrichment is realistic alongside transport and home routines.

A good example of “wider world” enrichment is the environmental club, which was linked to participation in a youth COP27 climate conference experience, giving students structured exposure to debate and civic participation rather than only awareness-raising.

The implication is that personal development is treated as something students do, not just something they hear about.

For students who want regular weekly activity, the menu includes options across academic support and performing arts as well as sport. The published list includes Geography Club, Music Tech Club, and a Year 11 Maths Clinic at lunchtime, plus Singing Club. After school there is Drama Club, Dance Club, and a range of team activities such as volleyball, basketball, football, netball, and cheerleading.

The school also signals peripatetic instrumental music lessons (for example drum, guitar, brass, singing, and woodwind), which can be a good fit for students who are motivated by practical, skills-based progression alongside GCSE study.

The school day structure is clearly published. Students are expected in college by 8.50am, mentor time runs from 8.55am, and the school day ends at 3.20pm.

Transport is a meaningful consideration for this area. The school signposts home-to-school transport eligibility through Cambridgeshire for catchment-area students.

Separately, the school has also communicated details of a commercial bus network from September 2024, including season tickets and single fares, which can materially affect the real cost of choosing the school for families outside walking distance. Families should confirm current pricing and routes before committing, because transport arrangements can change year to year.

Wraparound childcare is not typically a feature of secondary schools, and the school does not present a standard before-school or after-school care offer in its core published day structure. For families who need supervised provision beyond clubs, it is sensible to ask directly what is available, and whether it is consistent across the year.

• Consistency in classrooms. The school’s curriculum planning is ambitious, but some lessons were described as using time less effectively, with students occasionally waiting after finishing tasks. Families of students who need constant stretch should ask how lesson pacing and challenge are being strengthened across departments.

• Behaviour routines rely on staff consistency. Most staff apply agreed routines, but a small minority were described as less consistent, which can allow disruption to continue longer than it should. This is particularly important for students who are easily distracted.

• Post-16 planning starts early. With no sixth form, students will be making a college or training transition at 16. That suits many teenagers very well, but it does put more weight on careers guidance and on family planning for transport and course fit in Year 10 and Year 11.

• Transport can shape the real experience. Club participation and after-school support are easier when students can stay beyond 3.20pm. Families relying on buses should map out realistic return times, and confirm the latest transport arrangements for the year of entry.

Bassingbourn Village College is a community-focused 11 to 16 school with a clear daily structure, a visible enrichment programme, and pastoral strengths that show up in how students describe safety and respect. Academic outcomes are broadly in line with the middle of England schools overall, but with a strong local position in the Royston area on the FindMySchool GCSE ranking, and a curriculum model that is designed to build knowledge carefully over time.

Best suited to families who want a settled, structured comprehensive school experience, and who value enrichment and personal development alongside GCSE study. The key decision points are consistency of classroom delivery, and whether transport makes after-school learning and clubs genuinely accessible.