Admissions

We are a Church of England school, welcoming children of all faiths or no faith to our close-knit and friendly community. Each year, a new group of children join us in Reception Class, and we also have a Pre-School that admits children from age 3 upwards. We also quite often have a small number of places in other years, since we have many children of academics or parents with international roles who are in Cambridge only for a few years.

St Philip’s offers a wonderful mix of relatively small community feel with incredible diversity within it. It is in an excellent location on a secure site in the south east of the city, only a short walk from the centre of historic Cambridge, with its fantastic museums and university buildings. Diversity of socio-economic status, education, faith, nationality – yet it remains small enough for many people to know each other and want to know each other. The school is the point where they meet, offering the potential to be at the heart of a community that combines the best of a vibrant village feel within the thriving, bustling city of Cambridge. 

Our local Authority (Cambridgeshire County Council) should be contacted to find out about our admissions and appeal arrangements. Please visit their website or by phone on 0345 045 1370, as this contains important information on admission and appeal dates, as well as the processes.

If you are interested in your children attending our school;

• Have a look around this website for lots of information about who we are, and what you can expect at the school.
• Please feel free to arrange a visit to the school through our office (office@stphilips.cambs.sch.uk).
• When you are ready to apply, this must be done through Cambridgeshire County Council’s Admissions Service. Full details which are available on their website or by phone on 0345 045 1370.

Admission information

The School’s intake number is currently 45.  This is the maximum number of children that we are allowed to have in any school year, and is determined by the physical size of the school site.  If there are more than 45 applicants in a given year, places are allocated according to the following admissions criteria:

 Children who have a Educational Health & Care Plan of special educational needs that names the school will be admitted.

Oversubscription Criteria

1. Children in public care, also known as Looked After Children (LAC), and children who were previously looked after but ceased to be so by reason of adoption, a resident order or special guardianship order (PLAC). This includes children who appear to the Admission Authority to have been in state care (i.e. in the care of or accommodated by a public authority, religious organisation or any other provider whose sole/main purpose is to benefit society) outside of England but ceased to be so as a result of being adopted only.
2. Children normally living in the catchment area who have siblings attending St Philip’s at the time of admission.
3. Children normally living in the catchment area. Places will be offered in this category until a total of 40 places have been taken by children with statements of SEN, or in accordance with criteria 1-3, or when all applicants in this category have received an offer.
4. Children applying for a church place.

Up to five church places will be offered to children of families who specifically wish their children to be educated at a Church of England school.  Parents applying on religious grounds must also submit a St Philip’s Supplementary Information Form which is available by clicking below

These places will be prioritized in the following order.

1. a) Families at the heart of their church,
2. b) Families attached to the church,
3. c) Families known to their church.

Within these categories applicants will be prioritized as follows:

1. Families linked to St Philip’s church the Parish church,
2. Families linked to other Church of England churches,

• Families linked to other Christian churches.

5. Other children normally living in the catchment area (and not included in 3 above).
6. Children not living in the catchment area who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission.
7. Children applying for a Church place (who were not offered a place under criterion 4).
8. Any remaining applicants.

Tiebreaker.  Where there is a need to prioritise in a category, children living nearest to the school will be given priority.