Coleridge Community College - Cambridge

B. E.

As a student who left in 2024, I would like to share my thoughts on my experience at this school. Overall, I found it to be satisfactory, especially considering my time there during its most challenging period (2020-2021). I have observed noticeable improvements since then.

During my time at the school, there were many positive aspects; however, my final two years (Years 10 and 11) were particularly difficult, especially during my GCSE preparations. I experienced significant stress due to a lack of effective communication between staff and students. Important information that should have been shared often was not, which contributed to a sense of distrust and a lack of honesty.

In Year 11, the pressure we faced was unprecedented and, frankly, unhelpful. We were required to stay an additional 50 minutes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for our chosen subjects, which led to widespread complaints from my peers. The extended hours, including ‘master classes’ and additional lessons before school, created an overwhelming timetable that was not conducive to a productive learning environment. Even some teachers acknowledged the impracticality of this approach and expressed understanding of the exhaustion it caused.

Moreover, I noticed that students in lower sets often felt neglected by the school. There seemed to be a disproportionate focus on those with higher passing grades, while those struggling to meet basic requirements received less support. This created a challenging atmosphere for both students and teachers in lower sets, who were under immense pressure to help students succeed despite limited resources and support. Unfortunately, some staff members appeared to believe it was not worth the effort to engage with students they perceived as uninterested in learning.

Kirat B.

This is the best scendary school in my life and the teachers are the best!!!... My experience is unlimited out of 10!!!...I really appreciate the teachers... Teachers are so hardworking and the best...Other staff are the best...
I'm so lucky I study in this school!!!...
I'm in year 7 and I realized that all school staff are the best and hardworking!!!...❤

Zarah C.

Please do not send your children here! I went to Coleridge and finished there in 2017. It was the worst experience being a student there. I was bullied all those years being there and the teachers and headmasters did nothing about it. I only gained support from my maths teacher who I’m forever thankful for. All the kids there, were so foul. They bullied me, some of them were even Muslim girls and gave me a hard time just because I took my headscarf off, after being made fun of for so long. I gained no support and the teachers ignored me. All they recommend was to go to an antibullying club at lunch time, which did absolutely nothing to help. They just sit and talk to each other and that’s it, no advice, nothing. Some teachers even enjoyed picking on me when I was struggling with anxiety, and couldn’t answer questions. I was always picked on by teachers to answer questions and when I couldn’t, the class would laugh. I later on suffered with an eating disorder because I was always bullied for my looks. I do not recommend going to this school. The discipline is ridiculous. They’d make you stay way past school ours, and wouldn’t even tell our parents. The teachers were always screaming and shouting at the students, they had no control over them. We always had a substitute teacher because of how bad the students were, teachers kept coming and going. Lots of people failed their GCSE’s because of this.

After Ramadan, I was told on Eid day that I wasn’t allowed to go home to celebrate after my exam. One of the rude ladies at student services claimed I was lying, even though it was Eid and all the other Muslim student were allowed to go home, but I wasn’t. They really enjoyed making my life more difficult, and I was not allowed to go home. I will never forgive Coleridge for the hell they put me in. The teachers even allowed students to post embarrassing photos of me in the leavers video, without my permission. I was traumatised when I saw the photos during the leavers assembly. I was crying in almost every lesson, and gained no support. Thank you Coleridge, you truly are a disgusting school.

mollyelizanne

Please please do not send your children here. For the sake of their mental health and well being. The school used to be good but when united learning became part of the institution, it went extremely downhill.
It is extremely clear to many of the students here that this school cares more about rules than the mental health of its students.
I have sat in classrooms where people have had literal anxiety and panic attacks and the teachers have done nothing. I have experienced my peers and myself feel as if our happiness and well being has been completely taken away from us due to the school's horrific amount of pressure they put on us.

I have struggled with severe mental health issues since the beginning of January 2021 and the school have only made it worse, invalidated it and broken trust with me. Not only have I had this experience but many others have as well. They create this persona, giving the impression that they care, when in reality, they do not. All they care about is how the school looks.

Students were happier, getting better grades and behaving much better before united learning and the new leadership team. Now, me and other peers have had to revise and re learn stuff profusely at home because of the terrible organisation and teaching. (This is not directly the teacher's issues but the leadership teams).

We are not learning. We are only learning to be quiet and obey the borderline dictatorship mannerisms of this school.
It is not fair on us. Not fair on our future which is being ruined by this school.

They strip us of our personality and sense of expression with ridiculous uniform rules that benefit no one but the school's pathetic ego.

Year 11s are struggling to find time to actually revise due to the ridiculous 2 hour a night homework schedule which often finds itself to be 3 hours. Even younger years are struggling - It has become a norm to see new year 7 and 8s being so scared of the dumb punishments for perhaps, losing a pen, that they are crying and constantly anxious.
So please, if you care about your children - DO NOT send them here.
I could write so much more but I do not have the time so there you go.

natasha B.

Getting better! My daughters mental health plummeted last year due to this school but it's getting better

Abid

Amending my original review to be more representative of the school currently, from a Year 11 perspective

• Overall the school has increased in quality having now a real headteacher instead of an interim one
• Year 11s can join extra 'masterclasses' and sessions both before, after and during school that provide students with the ability to do practice papers and exam questions in the company of a teacher in the time leading up to their GCSEs
• The schools reward system has been revamped so that theoretically more students can receive prizes for demonstrating school values e.g. being inquisitive during lesson and asking questions
• Library with computers to do homework with, well managed in comparison to last year
• Dinner hall food quality is average for secondary schools so take from that what you will
• The disciplinary system is much more justified with teachers being more familiar in what constitutes issuing a warning, a move and remove
• Parent engagement through 'tea and tours' which I think started last year and essentially lets parents walk through the school during the day and see the teaching practices of the school first hand

• The subjects and teachers are good, besides PE which is in shambles as those who took it for their GCSEs are more regarded; teachers leaving has led to some changes and lower sets often really only get a period of football on the field or netball or something else that doesn't follow a curriculum
• School has yet to allocate a designated prayer room
• Teachers may allow pupils to leave to go to the toilet during lesson however this is inconsistent

↳ A few positives and negatives which could influence your desire to come to this school. I'm giving the school a 4 star rating because I admire how much they managed to make it better than for example 3 years ago which, if you look at past reviews and having experienced it, was a dark time...

Rinnabun

As a student starting their GSCEs and Year 10 this year, I've seen this school at its highs and lows for 3 years. It's at the point to where the school will rather care about the publics reputation and discipline then students wellbeing and education. This school depends on its rules and to be seen as a near perfect school. We are required to almost always be in silence, if not we have to sit in an isolated room for 7 50mins periods, which means we lose vital knowledge towards final exams.

So many students and teachers have left due to the stress of the current environment of the place to the point of that there's hardly any supply teachers left which means that we as students are lacking in certain topics of education, especially for us who are in gsce years, which adds a level of stress to both sides as the students have to rush certain topics to stay on track via a video or a simple questionnaire, and then it leads to certain students getting behind because some people do not learn through that.
I do want to say however that the problem does not lie on the teachers. The problem mainly lies on the leadership team, United Learning and the lack of communication between them.

I joined in Mid 2018, I was excited to come here as I was promised that it would be better than my previous school. For the past 3 years, I've had little to no support for my illnesses from most of staff members, I've been made out to be dramatic, that I'm a liar, that I was doing it for attention and I'm overexaggerating it to the point where I've had to make numerous complaints about the treatment I've had from certain staff, and yet I've never seen any change from them. I've gotten to the point where I dont even want to come to this place because of this environment that they caused and the way that me and my other peers have been talked down to.

I've seen new students crying over the rules and the pressure the school gives. I, along with other students have been called a disappointment to the school over the wrong pairs of shoes without considering why we were and being forced to wear shoes that cause me discomfort and pain.

I don't feel proud to be in Coleridge anymore, I feel embarrassed to be around this environment. They never listen to any complaints, students or parents and can be very defensive about these rules. My wellbeing has been so bad with the constant changes to expectations and constantly being pressurized by staff, as I'm sure many of my other classmates have felt.

I sincerely advise you to not bring your kids here for your children's wellbeing and education. I have my honest sympathy to new students of this school who will have to deal with the furthermore stricter changes to the rules.

Mih A.

As someone who has been a student here for 4 years, i can definitely say this is one of the worst schools in the country. The teachers will try and get you in detention / reflection for the smallest reasons and use the reflection room as a place to get rid of difficult students, even though there are other students who act the same and will not be punished. Some teachers clearly favour specific students and will openly make rude comments towards others. Students with special needs are not given enough help. The teachers will do next to nothing when it comes to racism or bullying. They claim to take our issues seriously but they choose to ignore them in order to protect the reputation of the school. The way lessons and homework are planned out, most students will forget everything we learnt and therefore proving these 'methods' useless. When telling teachers about this they just shrug their shoulders and move on.
If coleridge leave the United Learning trust, the school may finally be good again.