Sawston Village College
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Secondary
PUPILS
1171
AGES
11 - 16
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Academy converter
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
Not Rated

Can I Get My Child Into This School?

Enter a postcode to see where you live on the map
heatmap example
Sample Map Only
Very Likely
Likely
Less Likely

This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0345 045 1370

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(04/05/2023)
Full Report - All Reports
76%
NATIONAL AVG. 38%
5+ GCSEs grade 9-4 (standard pass or above) including English and maths



Unlock The Rest Of The Data Now
We've Helped 20 Million Parents
  • See All Official School Data
  • View Catchment Area Maps
  • Access 2024 League Tables
  • Read Real Parent Reviews
  • Unlock 2024 Star Ratings
  • Easily Choose Your #1 School
£19.95
Per month

Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 15% of schools in England) Below Average (About 18% of schools in England) Average (About 35% of schools in England) Above Average (About 16% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 16% of schools in England)

School Results Over Time

2019 2022 2023 2020 Covid-19 2021 Covid-19 UNLOCK

% of pupils who achieved 5+ GCSEs grade 9-4
2019 2022 2023 2020 Covid-19 2021 Covid-19 UNLOCK

% of pupils who achieved GCSE grade 5 or above in both English and maths
`
New Road
Sawston
Cambridge
CB22 3BP
01223712777

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Working together with other senior leaders, you have continued to build on, and improve, the supportive and purposeful learning environment that exists. As a result, pupils behave very well and are proud of their school. They are confident and articulate young people who are keen to speak about their work. In their discussions with inspectors, pupils said that if they had to make the decision again, Sawston Village College would always be their first choice. The overwhelming majority of parents are highly positive about the quality of education, pupils’ progress and the range of skills they develop by the end of key stage 4. The strongly committed team of governors share senior leaders’ ambition and determination to continue to improve on pupils’ overall strong progress. Together, you are unequivocally focused on reducing any remaining differences in outcomes across subjects and for different groups of pupils. This means that you are very well positioned on the journey to becoming an outstanding school. You have set out the path to ongoing improvement precisely, through your selfevaluation and the school’s development plans. Staff are incisive about what is working well and what needs to be changed. Your subject leaders value the support that the senior leadership team give to them as they continue to raise standards to match those of the very best. Many pupils join the school with above-average levels of attainment. Pupils’ overall progress in GCSE examinations is above average and improving. By the end of key stage 4, many groups of pupils attain significantly better results than their peers nationally in English, mathematics, science and humanities subjects. While more pupils take GCSEs in modern foreign languages than is often the case in other schools nationally, they did not make good progress in 2016 and, in particular, in French. Outcomes were also not as strong in some GCSE option subjects, for example in art and design. This was especially so for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The provisional examination outcomes for 2017 suggest that overall progress for these groups, and in these subjects, is accelerating. It is notable that in-school assessment information shows that pupils made good progress in German and Spanish last year but you and your team are not complacent. You know that there is more to do to ensure that all pupils consistently achieve their potential. Working relationships between teachers and pupils are positive and mutually respectful. Pupils told inspectors that the school is a friendly place. They said that behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes is mostly very good. This view was consistent with the evidence gathered by inspectors during the short inspection. It is also reflected in the comment from a parent when they said, ‘Sawston is a calm, supportive and caring school, not only for my child, but for us as parents.’ Pupils follow a broad and balanced curriculum. Alongside academic and vocational studies, the wider curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils develop effective spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. As a result, they readily take on pupil leadership roles which extend and enhance these skills. Opportunities to attend after-school clubs and interesting enrichment experiences are extensive and popular. Pupils were keen to tell inspectors that there is ‘something for everyone’. High-quality performance in music is a particular strength and summed up in the words of another parent, who told inspectors, ‘The music department is amazing!’ You explained how the school is also developing a national and international reputation for the quality of its work in making films. Impressively, the youth-led cinema and the film-making groups have produced work that has been shown at international film festivals. The school is rightly proud to have gained the Arts Mark Platinum award in recognition of these skills. In September 2016, the school became one of the founding members of Anglian Learning, a multi-academy trust. Alongside other member schools, you are benefiting from the support and challenge of the trust board, as well as the economies of scale and wider opportunities to learn from and share good practice. Within the context of cohesive partnership arrangements, trust leaders are very clear in their determination to retain the unique characteristics of each individual school. The trust is also clear in its commitment to preserve the role of local governing body in holding you and your senior leaders to account for the school’s performance. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors have established a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. The associated staff training is regularly updated and matched well to individual needs and roles. The required staff recruitment records are suitably completed and compliant with statutory regulations. Pupils told inspectors that they feel that the school is a safe place. They explained how they are taught how to keep safe online and showed a good understanding of the potential risks in using, for example, the internet and social media. They said that incidences of bullying at Sawston Village College were rare. Almost all pupils were confident that if bullying happened, teachers would support them by taking appropriate action. The vast majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire agreed that pupils were safe and well cared for in the school. The school’s commitment to the inclusion of all pupils is transparent and at the heart of well-established procedures. Effective action is taken to protect vulnerable young people from harm, including through strong links with local primary schools. These links help to ensure that all the necessary information is shared prior to primary pupils’ transition to secondary education. Staff with specific responsibility for child protection work closely with other agencies to ensure that any required support is put in place promptly and is making a difference. Inspection findings In ascertaining whether the school remained good, my first key line of enquiry was to consider the impact of senior leaders’ actions to secure high quality outcomes across all subjects and for different groups of pupils. This was because examination outcomes in previous years reflected some underachievement across subjects and in the progress of disadvantaged pupils compared to other, nondisadvantaged pupils nationally. This was a particular concern in French and in some of the subjects that pupils chose as options in 2016. Inspectors agreed that as a result of well-focused leadership of teaching, learning and assessment, subject teams are increasingly on track to achieve better outcomes for pupils in most areas that have previously underperformed. Nevertheless, you, your senior leaders and governors continue to sustain a relentless focus on securing equally strong performance across all subjects. Your development planning makes it clear that this remains a whole-school priority. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils now make overall progress that compares favourably with other, non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, but they do not yet make as much progress as other pupils in the school. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their different starting points. In considering my second line of enquiry, you told me about the steps you have taken to ensure that all teaching is consistently strong and effective. This was because the consistency of the quality of teaching was identified as an area for improvement at the previous inspection. To bring about further improvements, securing effective subject leadership has, quite rightly, been another key focus in your development planning over time. In our discussions, subject leaders made reference to their increased level of accountability for pupils’ progress. In doing so, they spoke about their own extended training for the role. They explained how the observations of teaching, learning and assessment that they undertake, sometimes together with senior leaders, form part of their systematic checks on subject quality. As a result, both senior and middle leaders know what is working well and the things that need to be changed. For example, while teachers usually apply the school’s assessment policy effectively and plan activities appropriately matched to pupils’ abilities, you and your teams have a shared understanding that there is more to be done to ensure that this is universally the case. At subject and whole-school level, development plans are effective in linking improvement targets to the quality of teaching. Appropriate measures are put in place to continue to raise standards where teaching is less strong. Consequently, any differences in the quality of pupils’ learning experiences are reducing. This is a positive step forward, as some inconsistent teaching quality was a concern raised by a few parents in their free-text responses during the inspection. I was interested to hear about the development work of the recently introduced school improvement research team. This work is positioned well to test out and share research-based good practice across the curriculum. In considering my third line of enquiry, staff told inspectors about the changes made to ensure that the high standard of pupils’ behaviour, judged outstanding at the previous inspection, is sustained. In refreshing your behaviour management policies, you have raised the expectations of staff consistency in applying the system of rewards and sanctions. These expectations have been set out in a revised behaviour handbook and reinforced through staff training at the start of the current academic year. In doing so, you and your senior leaders have made your aim, to reduce further the rare incidents of low-level disruption and fixed-term exclusion, crystal clear. Changes to the pastoral system have introduced a now well-established vertical house system. Through this, pupils build effective working relationships with others from different year groups. They also benefit from regular learning conversations and one-to-one pastoral support from mentors. As a result, a typically calm and respectful atmosphere exists in the school. Effective strategies, including the work of the school’s own inclusion unit, are continuing to ensure that the number of fixed-term exclusions are reducing. My final line of enquiry looked at the impact of senior leaders’ actions to continue to improve attendance overall and to reduce the rate of persistent absence. This was because, while most pupils attend school regularly and so achieve well, a small group of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities had unacceptably high rates of persistent absence in 2016.

Sawston Village College Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>52, "agree"=>39, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>2, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>55, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>34, "agree"=>50, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>4} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
My Child Has Not Been Bullied Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"my_child_has_not_been_bullied"=>67, "strongly_agree"=>14, "agree"=>6, "disagree"=>4, "strongly_disagree"=>2, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>28, "agree"=>47, "disagree"=>20, "strongly_disagree"=>4, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
I Have Not Raised Any Concerns Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"i_have_not_raised_any_concerns"=>25, "strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>20, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>3, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>41, "agree"=>40, "disagree"=>10, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 63 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>54, "agree"=>34, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>4} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>49, "agree"=>42, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>46, "agree"=>43, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>2, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>63, "agree"=>33, "disagree"=>2, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>69, "agree"=>28, "disagree"=>1, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>2} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>50, "agree"=>35, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>3, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023
Yes No {"yes"=>92, "no"=>8} UNLOCK Figures based on 280 responses up to 23-05-2023

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

Your rating:
Review guidelines
  • Do explain who you are and your relationship to the school e.g. ‘I am a parent…’
  • Do back up your opinion with examples or clear reasons but, remember, it’s your opinion not fact.
  • Don’t use bad or aggressive language.
  • Don't go in to detail about specific staff or pupils. Individual complaints should be directed to the school.
  • Do go to the relevant authority is you have concerns about a serious issue such as bullying, drug abuse or bad management.
Read the full review guidelines and where to find help if you have serious concerns about a school.
We respect your privacy and never share your email address with the reviewed school or any third parties. Please see our T&Cs and Privacy Policy for details of how we treat registered emails with TLC.


News, Photos and Open Days from Sawston Village College

We are waiting for this school to upload information. Represent this school?
Register your details to add open days, photos and news.

Do you represent
Sawston Village College?

Register to add photos, news and download your Certificate of Excellence 2023/24

*Official school administrator email addresses

(eg [email protected]). Details will be verified.

Questions? Email [email protected]

We're here to help your school to add information for parents.

Thank you for registering your details

A member of the School Guide team will verify your details within 2 working days and provide further detailed instructions for setting up your School Noticeboard.

For any questions please email [email protected]