SchoolFacts.uk

Longsands Academy

Secondary · St Neots · PE19 1LQ

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 13 February 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,412 pupils · 77% of 1,838 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
24.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
9.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.astrea-longsands.org
URN
136992

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 209 families named it first for 275 Year 7 places, 0.76 first choices per place. We hold 12 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2015 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 13 February 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.76 first-choice applications per place

275 places offered · 209 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Cutoff by admission criterion (2023 entry)

Out of Catchment Village/Town Feeder
1.583 miles

2023 is the most recent year we hold a cutoff for this school. It describes that year, not 2026.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

275 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
48.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
72%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
54.9%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.7
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
32.2
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school48.5
Median of its 12 closest peers47
Cambridgeshire average49.3
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolNorth Shields · 199 miles awayGood49.6
Droitwich Spa High School and Sixth Form CentreDroitwich Spa · 81 miles awayGood44.1
Aston AcademySheffield · 90 miles awayExpected standard44.2
Samuel Ryder AcademySt Albans · 34 miles awayExpected standard56.5
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, LanchesterDurham · 190 miles awayExpected standard44.9
Highfields SchoolMatlock · 83 miles awayNo current grade47
Ridgewood SchoolDoncaster · 98 miles awayGood49.5
Kettlethorpe High SchoolWakefield · 111 miles awayNeeds attention46.9
Holyrood AcademyChard · 150 miles awayGood42.4
Tuxford AcademyNewark · 74 miles awayGood46
Oaklands Catholic SchoolWaterlooville · 100 miles awayExpected standard52.3
Camborne Science and International AcademyCamborne · 260 miles awayGood49.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 78% (Cambridgeshire 68%, England 59%) · Any other White background 7% (Cambridgeshire 11%, England 7%) · Black African 3% (Cambridgeshire 2%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Cambridgeshire 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Cambridgeshire 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 2% (Cambridgeshire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Cambridgeshire 2%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Cambridgeshire 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Cambridgeshire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Cambridgeshire 2%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Cambridgeshire 1%, England 3%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

27.16 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Cambridgeshire: 13.58 suspensions and 0.06 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

69% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 17% moved to another state school · 14% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

72.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £53,000; 12.2% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,476
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (6%) · supplies and services 10% (11%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 3% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£2,265,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
86%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
40%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
39%
Any sustained destination
86%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
5/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher26.4%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.4%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways18.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier68.6%62.3%
Social housing18.6%17.1%
Privately rented12.8%20.5%
Detached houses8.9%22.9%
Flats11.3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms12.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van15.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01018190 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£318,000428 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£252,000–£399,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (114)£455,000
Semi-detached (121)£330,000
Terraced (114)£300,000
Flat (79)£190,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
7an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools