Abbey College, Ramsey
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,096 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.1
Academy converter
Ely College
- Pupils on roll
- 1,635of 1,650 places
- Free school meals
- 16.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 284
- Ofsted
- Improved significantly, 26 March 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Ely College (URN 137779, until 1 September 2016).
What the data says
Of the 211 pupils who finished Year 11 at Ely College in 2023, 36% stayed on in Ely College’s own sixth form (Cambridgeshire average 24%), 15% went to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 116 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 19% went to university (Cambridgeshire 39%, England 37%), and 3% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally; 15% started an apprenticeship, well above the 7% England average.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 38% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
Media Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 20% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Cambridgeshire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Ely College | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 211 | 6,392 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 97% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 90% | 87% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 36% | 24% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 38% | 32% | 13% |
| — further education college | 15% | 29% | 37% |
| — other education | — | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Ely College | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 116 | 5,697 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 73% | 83% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 19% | 39% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 3% | 26% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 3% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 15% | 6% | 7% |
| Employment | 39% | 35% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 21% | 12% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Ely College | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 49.7 | 48.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 50% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 68% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 36% | 46% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.33 | 4.36 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 16% | 24% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 34.7 | 32.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 52.5 | 52.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 5% | 14% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 282 | 99% | 89% | 23% | 20% | 72% |
| Biology | 282 | 99% | 23% | 14% | 45% | 65% |
| Chemistry | 282 | 99% | 23% | 18% | 47% | 66% |
| English Literature | 282 | 99% | 86% | 20% | 21% | 79% |
| Mathematics | 282 | 99% | 88% | 23% | 22% | 79% |
| Physics | 276 | 97% | 23% | 17% | 46% | 63% |
| History | 163 | 57% | 41% | 37% | 26% | 67% |
| Geography | 158 | 56% | 41% | 35% | 25% | 72% |
| Religious Studies | 98 | 35% | 31% | 34% | 32% | 64% |
| Spanish | 83 | 29% | 19% | 25% | 27% | 72% |
| Business Studies | 61 | 21% | 18% | 34% | 20% | 80% |
| Media Studies | 57 | 20% | 4% | 26% | 20% | 77% |
| Design and Technology | 54 | 19% | 11% | 24% | 23% | 59% |
| Computer Science | 47 | 17% | 13% | 34% | 30% | 66% |
| Drama | 39 | 14% | 7% | 31% | 27% | 79% |
| Fine Art | 36 | 13% | 9% | 28% | 28% | 83% |
| Physical Education | 26 | 9% | 11% | 46% | 24% | 92% |
| Music | 23 | 8% | 5% | 35% | 33% | 78% |
| French | 21 | 7% | 18% | 29% | 29% | 95% |
| Polish | 6 | 2% | 1% | 50% | 84% | 83% |
| Chinese | 4 | 1% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Portuguese | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Turkish | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 43 | 68% | — |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 38 | 60% | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 34 | 54% | — |
| Health Studies | 26 | 41% | — |
| Beauty Care / Services | 25 | 40% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Ely College | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 259 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 63 | 3,369 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C- | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 25.06 | 37.39 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | D+ | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 0% | 23% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 15 | 24% | 23% |
| Sociology | 12 | 19% | 13% |
| Mathematics | 9 | 14% | 31% |
| Biology | 9 | 14% | 20% |
| Geography | 7 | 11% | 10% |
| Photography | 7 | 11% | 3% |
| History | 7 | 11% | 13% |
| Business Studies | 6 | 10% | 13% |
| Chemistry | 6 | 10% | 17% |
| Accounting/Finance | 6 | 10% | 1% |
| Economics | — | — | 13% |
| English Language and Literature | — | — | 2% |
| English Literature | — | — | 11% |
| Politics | — | — | 6% |
| Philosophy | — | — | 1% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Music Technology | — | — | 0% |
| Physics | — | — | 12% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
| Computer Science | — | — | 5% |
| Product Design | — | — | 2% |
| D and T Textiles Technology | — | — | 0% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Science | VRQ Level 3 | 22 | 35% | — |
| Multimedia | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | 14 | 22% | — |
| Beauty Therapy | VRQ Level 2 | 6 | 10% | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 6 | 10% | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 6 | 10% | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Music Technology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Music Technology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 2 | — | — | — |
| Food Preparation (General) | VRQ Level 2 | — | — | — |
| Hairdressing Services | VRQ Level 2 | — | — | — |
| Men's Hairdressing | VRQ Level 2 | — | — | — |
| Food Preparation (General) | VRQ Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Hairdressing Services | VRQ Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | — | — | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC Level 3 National Certificate (Band D) | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | — | — | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | — | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | BTEC National Extended Diploma L3 - Band N - PPP-D*D*D* | — | — | — |
| Administrative Management | BTEC Technical Certificate L2 - Band E - P-D | — | — | — |
| Small Business Management | BTEC Technical Certificate L2 - Band E - P-D | — | — | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Cambridgeshire
Bassingbourn Village College
Academy converter · 652 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.5
Bottisham Village College
Academy converter · 1,396 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.1
Cambourne Village College
Free schools · sixth form · 1,626 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.7
Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology
University technical college · sixth form · 455 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 56.8
Chesterton Community College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,126 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 68.0
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.