Ely College is larger than the average-sized secondary school and student numbers have remained stable since the previous inspection. The school is an academy and forms part of the CfBT Schools Trust which is an organisation containing 19 academies and free schools. The academy’s governing board has local powers of governance which are delegated to it from the Trust. The Chief Executive Officer of the CfBT Trust currently exercises full governing power over the financial affairs of the academy. There have been several new appointments to the senior team since summer 2014. At the time of the inspection, a number of subject leaders were recently appointed. The mathematics and English departments have been led, since September 2012, by senior staff who are not subject specialists. At the time of the inspection, the acting heads of English and mathematics had been in post for five months. The vast majority of students are White British. The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium is below average. The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is above the national average. A very small number of students attend part-time provision off-site at Education Youth Services Ltd, Wisbech and The College of West Anglia, King’s Lynn. The academy has established an alternative provision on-site for students who require support with vocational achievement. This provision is called the Nisai Hub. Nisai Learning manages all areas of teaching and provision within the Hub, which is inspected separately to the academy; 10 students attend this provision. The academy does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the students’ attainment and progress.