Contested schools in Cambridgeshire
These are the Cambridgeshire schools that turned first-choice families away in at least one of the last three years — either because more families named them first than they had places, or because they refused families who named them first anyway. Figures shown are for 2026/27. Demand is not a forecast: an oversubscribed school turns more families away, which is not the same as their appeals succeeding more often.
Appeal success rates for Cambridgeshire
Secondary schools (18)
Each has its own page with a 12-year demand history.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterton Community College | 174 | 293 | 1.68 |
| St Bede's Inter-Church School | 177 | 288 | 1.63 |
| Soham Village College | 257 | 333 | 1.30 |
| Hinchingbrooke School | 329 | 423 | 1.29 |
| Cambourne Village College | 289 | 344 | 1.19 |
| Parkside Community College | 113 | 135 | 1.19 |
| Linton Village College | 145 | 170 | 1.17 |
| Ely College | 261 | 304 | 1.16 |
| Impington Village College | 232 | 267 | 1.15 |
| Comberton Village College | 281 | 309 | 1.10 |
| Abbey College, Ramsey | 197 | 211 | 1.07 |
| Thomas Clarkson Academy | 223 | 239 | 1.07 |
| Sawtry Village Academy | 173 | 182 | 1.05 |
| Sawston Village College | 231 | 238 | 1.03 |
| Cromwell Community College | 234 | 227 | 0.97 |
| Bassingbourn Village College | 120 | 114 | 0.95 |
| Swavesey Village College | 259 | 245 | 0.95 |
| Bottisham Village College | 250 | 194 | 0.78 |
Primary schools (74)
Primary schools are listed here as figures rather than pages. Most refusals at the Reception intake are infant class size cases, where a panel can only act on three narrow grounds and fewer than one in ten appeals succeeds — so the honest thing to publish is the data, not a page inviting an appeal.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Road Primary School | 59 | 95 | 1.61 |
| Abbots Ripton CofE Primary School | 17 | 25 | 1.47 |
| Ridgefield Primary School | 30 | 43 | 1.43 |
| St Alban's Catholic Primary School | 29 | 41 | 1.41 |
| Kettlefields Primary School | 19 | 26 | 1.37 |
| Godmanchester Bridge Academy | 30 | 40 | 1.33 |
| William Westley Church of England VC Primary School | 30 | 40 | 1.33 |
| Barnabas Oley CofE Primary School | 20 | 26 | 1.30 |
| Northstowe Learning Community | 30 | 39 | 1.30 |
| Coates Primary School | 30 | 38 | 1.27 |
| Newnham Croft Primary School | 30 | 38 | 1.27 |
| Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School | 15 | 19 | — |
| Trumpington Park Primary School | 59 | 75 | 1.27 |
| Meldreth Primary School | 30 | 37 | 1.23 |
| Middlefield Primary Academy | 29 | 35 | 1.21 |
| The Shade Primary School | 29 | 35 | 1.21 |
| Cavalry Primary School | 60 | 72 | 1.20 |
| Ely St John's Community Primary School | 60 | 70 | 1.17 |
| Marleigh Primary Academy | 30 | 35 | 1.17 |
| Ermine Street Church Academy | 43 | 50 | 1.16 |
| Histon and Impington Brook Primary School | 60 | 69 | 1.15 |
| Queen Emma Primary School | 30 | 34 | 1.13 |
| Isle of Ely Primary School | 60 | 67 | 1.12 |
| Peckover Primary School | 59 | 66 | 1.12 |
| Thorndown Primary School | 61 | 68 | 1.11 |
| Elm Road Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| Isleham Church of England Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| St Anne's CofE Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| Fourfields Community Primary School | 60 | 65 | 1.08 |
| Alderman Payne Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| Cromwell Community College | 29 | 31 | 1.07 |
| Harston and Newton Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| Kennett Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| Sawtry Infants' School | 70 | 75 | 1.07 |
| Brampton Village Primary School | 90 | 95 | 1.06 |
| Brington CofE Primary School | 17 | 18 | — |
| Folksworth CofE Primary School | 16 | 17 | — |
| University of Cambridge Primary School | 89 | 94 | 1.06 |
| The Elton CofE Primary School of the Foundation of Frances and Jane Proby | 20 | 21 | 1.05 |
| Wintringham Primary Academy | 60 | 63 | 1.05 |
| Alconbury CofE Primary School | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| Alderman Jacobs School | 89 | 92 | 1.03 |
| Eynesbury CofE C Primary School | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| Fordham CofE Primary School | 60 | 62 | 1.03 |
| Lionel Walden Primary School | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| The Grove Primary School | 29 | 30 | 1.03 |
| Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School | 40 | 41 | 1.02 |
| St Andrew's CofE Primary School | 60 | 61 | 1.02 |
| All Saints Interchurch Academy | 23 | 23 | 1 |
| Bushmead Primary School | 60 | 60 | 1 |
| Great Abington Primary School | 14 | 14 | — |
| Holywell CofE Primary School | 22 | 22 | 1 |
| Robert Arkenstall Primary School | 26 | 26 | 1 |
| Somersham Primary School | 50 | 50 | 1 |
| The Ashbeach Primary School | 13 | 13 | — |
| Buckden CofE Primary School | 44 | 43 | 0.98 |
| Bewick Bridge Community Primary School | 30 | 29 | 0.97 |
| Great and Little Shelford CofE (Aided) Primary School | 30 | 29 | 0.97 |
| Houghton Primary School | 29 | 28 | 0.97 |
| St Helen's Primary School | 25 | 24 | 0.96 |
| Stretham Community Primary School | 24 | 23 | 0.96 |
| Haslingfield Endowed Primary School | 18 | 17 | — |
| Kings Hedges Primary School | 31 | 29 | 0.94 |
| Swavesey Primary School | 34 | 32 | 0.94 |
| Benwick Primary School | 14 | 13 | — |
| Sutton CofE VC Primary School | 40 | 37 | 0.93 |
| Bury CofE Primary School | 30 | 27 | 0.90 |
| Cromwell Academy | 18 | 16 | — |
| Holme CofE Primary School | 15 | 13 | — |
| Clarkson Infants School | 52 | 44 | 0.85 |
| Cheveley CofE Primary School | 19 | 16 | — |
| Trumpington Meadows Primary School | 30 | 25 | 0.83 |
| Thriplow CofE Primary School | 15 | 12 | — |
Department for Education, Primary and secondary school applications and offers, school-level file, 2026/27. Appeal outcomes are not published for individual schools — how we source and calculate the figures.