A council (local authority) in the East of England
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Peterborough at a glance
How Peterborough's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
61 mainstream schools in Peterborough, best first
Results well above the England average.
366 first choices, 127 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
18 first choices, 18 offers made
Met the standard at 1191%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
94 first choices, 85 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
12 mainstream schools in Peterborough, best first
Results well above the England average.
366 first choices, 127 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
221 first choices, 218 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1648.8
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
287 first choices, 262 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.6
England 46.2
89 in Peterborough, highest Ofsted grade first
Peterborough, PE4 6EX · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Hampton Hargate, PE7 8BZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Peterborough, PE6 7DU · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
18 in Peterborough, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
366 first choices, 127 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
221 first choices, 218 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1648.8
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
287 first choices, 262 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.6
England 46.2
9 in Peterborough. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Peterborough, PE6 0TD · Special · 16+ · Ages 16 to 25
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Peterborough, PE3 8RL · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Peterborough, PE2 5SD · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
4 in Peterborough. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Peterborough, PE3 8YQ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19 · Girls
Independent school. Results above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1652.3
England 46.2
Peterborough, PE6 0SA · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Peterborough, PE3 6AN · Independent · All-through · Ages 9 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Peterborough is a unitary authority in the East of England with 61 mainstream primary schools and 12 mainstream secondary schools. Pupil numbers have grown 11% since 2018.
From Peterborough council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@peterborough.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
94.8%got their first-choice primary school in Peterborough in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 41 of 151 councils. 98.9% got one of their top three.1.5% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
82.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Peterborough in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 84 of 151 councils. 96.6% got one of their top three.3.6% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
9 of 46 primary appeals heard in Peterborough succeeded in 2025. 4 of 93 secondary appeals heard in Peterborough succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Peterborough school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 72 inspected are Good or better.
89nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
89% Good or better. 61% met the standard at 11.
73schools
Ages 11 to 16
1 Outstanding, 7 Good, 1 need to improve. 40% got grade 5 in English and maths.
25schools
4 Good, 1 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
9schools
Here's how Peterborough's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
PeterboroughEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 44 primaries with one.
89%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
8 of the 9 with a grade.
89%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
61%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
40%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
30%
Latest graded inspection for the 58 schools that have one.
88%
Good or Outstanding
Peterborough in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Peterborough | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 88% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 61% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.4 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.0:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,636 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 58% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 19% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 35% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 31% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 874, ONS code E06000031.
Peterborough has 177 schools and nurseries.
There are 11% more pupils than in 2018.
30% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Peterborough's state schools each January.
Up 11% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Peterborough30%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Peterborough has 177 schools, including 73 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 89 nurseries, 4 independent schools, 9 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Peterborough on Eduscope are The King's (The Cathedral) School, John Clare Primary School, Hampton Hargate Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
88% of inspected schools in Peterborough hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 3 schools rated Outstanding and 48 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Peterborough, 61% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Peterborough is 18.0:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Peterborough is 18.9%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 41,133 pupils enrolled across schools in Peterborough, with 20,451 in primary and 20,569 in secondary. 31.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 4 independent schools in Peterborough. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Peterborough on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 177 schools in Peterborough by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
