What schools serve Ely?

There are 28 schools in Ely, Cambridgeshire, including Robert Arkenstall Primary School, Littleport Community Primary School, Stretham Community Primary School, Spring Meadow Infant School, Ely St John's Community Primary School and more. You can view each school's catchment area guidance and admissions policy on catchment.school.

How many primary and secondary schools are in Ely?

Ely has 19 primary schools and 4 secondary schools. There are also 5 other schools (such as all-through or special schools) in the area. All data is sourced from the Department for Education's GIAS register.

How do I find out if my address is in a school's catchment area in Ely?

To check whether your address falls within a school's catchment area in Ely, use the postcode search tool at catchment.school. Catchment area boundaries for Ely schools are set by Cambridgeshire and reviewed each year. You can also consult the school's admissions policy or contact the Cambridgeshire admissions team directly for the most up-to-date boundary maps.

Who sets catchment area boundaries for schools in Ely?

Catchment area boundaries for schools in Ely are set by Cambridgeshire as the admissions authority. Community and voluntary-controlled schools follow the council's published admissions policy, while academies and voluntary-aided schools may set their own. Boundaries are reviewed annually and published each September for the following academic year.

Schools in Ely

Reviewed by the catchment.school editorial team · Last updated 15 March 2026

Ely has 28 schools including 19 primaries and 4 secondaries, all sitting within Cambridgeshire County Council's co-ordinated admissions area. The cathedral city's compact geography means school choice is limited: once a popular school is oversubscribed, the nearest alternative can be several miles away into the Fens.

Faith schools are prominent here — 10 of the 28 schools have a religious character, a higher proportion than most market towns of this size. Six schools are currently at or above capacity, so catchment distances at oversubscribed primaries can be tighter than parents expect. Cambridgeshire publishes last-distance-offered figures in its annual admissions booklet, usually released in September for the following academic year.

School demand in Ely

Across the 27 schools in Ely with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 89%. 6 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.

10 schools in Ely have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.

16 of the schools in Ely are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Cambridgeshire, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.

11 of the schools in Ely have a current Ofsted rating, of which 9 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.

Primary schools in Ely: 4 oversubscribed (19)

Robert Arkenstall Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ely · CB6 3UA

Ages 4-11 286 pupils Capacity 300

Littleport Community Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ely · CB6 1JT

Ages 4-11 398 pupils Capacity 480

Stretham Community Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ely · CB6 3JN

Ages 5-11 180 pupils Capacity 210

Spring Meadow Infant School

Primary · Community school

Ely · CB7 4RB

Ages 4-7 143 pupils Capacity 180

Ely St John's Community Primary School

Primary · Community school

Ely · CB6 3BW

Ages 4-11 365 pupils Capacity 420