Comparison
Cambridge Maths School vs. Nottingham Maths School
East of England vs. East Midlands, open school vs. pre-opening. Full detail, sourcing and caveats are on each school's own page — this table is a starting point for comparison, not a replacement for reading both.
| Cambridge Maths School | Nottingham Maths School | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Open | Pre-opening — provisional 2028 |
| Location | Mill Road, Cambridge | Nottingham (site not yet confirmed) |
| Sponsor | University of Cambridge | University of Nottingham |
| Opened | 2023 | Not yet open |
| Age range | 16–19 | 16–19 (planned) |
| Capacity | 200 | 200 |
| Current roll | 99 students (60 Year 12, 39 Year 13) at the April 2026 Ofsted inspection; 0% FSM-eligible | — |
| Boarding | No boarding — day school. | No |
| Catchment | Admissions give sequential priority to applicants living in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough or Suffolk (FSM-eligible applicants from those counties first, then state-school applicants from those counties, then any resident of those counties) before falling back to highest applicant score nationally. | Described only as serving "the whole of the East Midlands" from a site "close to the University of Nottingham" — not yet open, and no site has been confirmed. |
| GCSE requirements | 7 GCSEs at grade 5+ predicted; Maths grade 8 or 9 predicted; Combined Science 8-8+ predicted (or grade 8+ in the separate science to be studied); English Language grade 5+ predicted. | — |
| Admissions deadline | For 2026 entry: applications opened 16 October 2025 and closed 13 January 2026; aptitude test 7 February 2026; interviews 2–13 March 2026; conditional offers by end of March 2026; enrolment on GCSE results day in August 2026. | — |
| Latest results | 2025: 53% A* | — |
| Ofsted | "Exceptional" — the highest available category — across every area assessed under the current framework | — |
Cambridge Maths School
Rated "Exceptional" — Ofsted's top category — in every area of its first full inspection, April 2026.
University of Nottingham Maths School
Pre-opening — confirmed to proceed after a DfE review, but no site or opening date has been published.
See also: Cambridge Maths School admissions · Nottingham Maths School admissions · all comparisons