Northstowe Secondary College

Northstowe is a new town that will eventually have up to 10,000 homes, with an anticipated population of 24,400 in Cambridgeshire, England, UK. On 1 April 2021 Northstowe became a civil parish, the parish was formed from Longstanton and Oakington and Westwick, with the first town council elected on 6 May of that year. Northstowe has been in development for around 15 years and through varying political administrations. Originally proposed to be "an exemplar of sustainability in the use of renewable energy resources and reducing carbon emissions", Northstowe will still have many exemplar features including a Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme (SUDS) and bus, bicycle and pedestrian only links. The Northstowe site is five miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Cambridge, between the villages of Oakington and Longstanton. The Northstowe development is being led by Homes England, the successor body to the Homes and Communities Agency, and the developers Gallagher Estates (part of L&Q).In January 2008, Yvette Cooper, Minister for Housing and Planning Department for Communities and Local Government at the time, confirmed in Parliament that Northstowe had not been adopted as an eco-town because the 2007 planning application submitted "predate[s] the eco-towns programme", and because it would not be zero-carbon.Northstowe is linked to Cambridge and St Ives by the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway which was opened in 2011.In 2012 outline consent was given to Gallagher to progress with the first phase of 1500 homes, a primary school, road improvements and a local centre. The primary school, The Pathfinder Church of England School, opened its gates to pupils in September 2017, initially taking pupils mostly from Longstanton for a year to allow redevelopment of Hatton Park Primary School. In 2015 outline consent was also agreed in principle to build a further 3,500 homes, a town centre, 3 more schools including a secondary school education campus and a link road to the A14, plus a road linking the town to the Guided Busway. The homes in phase two could not be occupied until a major A14 upgrade is completed which started in 2016 and was completed in early 2020. The first new homes at Northstowe were occupied in April 2017. In May 2020 the outline planning applications for the third and final phase were submitted for 5,000 homes, consisting of 4,000 homes on phase 3a and 1,000 homes on phase 3b.

Oakington Immigration Reception Centre was an immigration detention centre located in Cambridgeshire run by UK Visas and Immigration. Originally a World War II airfield, RAF Oakington was used by RAF Bomber Command flying Short Stirling aircraft. The base contracted after the war, and much evidence of its former presence is visible in farmland surrounding the current perimeter. It was used for flight training until the 1970s, and then became a barracks. Taken over by the Home Office, it was converted to an immigration centre; in 2000 the site held and processed around 450 political asylum seekers, and between opening and mid-2005 had processed over 40,000 people who had been arrested for entering the country illegally. The site was then operated the, then, UK Border Agency's seven-day fast-track assessment process, which involved a series of interviews over an average of 14 days to determine the validity of a case. If refused asylum, detainees were removed from the country. If they gained asylum, they were released into the community.The centre received repeated criticisms from the Prisons Inspector and from others regarding safety of children and adults detained there. In January 2008, it was announced that the centre was the second worst in the country.The site was acquired in March 2006 by English Partnerships for a new town called Northstowe. The Centre was due to close in 2006 but actually closed in November 2010.

Royal Air Force Oakington or more simply RAF Oakington was a Royal Air Force station located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Oakington, Cambridgeshire, England and 5.1 miles (8.2 km) north-west of Cambridge.

St Michael's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands at the south end of the village. The design of St Michael's was used for that of the Church of St. James the Less in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as St. Thomas Church in New Windsor, New York, both in 1846. It has been influential in the design of other churches in the American Gothic Revival style.

Oakington railway station was a station in Oakington, Cambridgeshire, on the line between Cambridge and St Ives. It opened in 17 August 1847 and was closed during the Beeching Axe in 5 October 1970. The station building remains as a private house but the track has been replaced by the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.

Westwick is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Oakington and Westwick, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is situated to the north-west of Cambridge. Earthworks suggest that it is a shrunken medieval village. In 1961 the parish had a population of 37.

Oakington is a small rural Anglo-Saxon village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Oakington and Westwick, in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is seven miles (11 km) north-west of Cambridge. In 1961 the parish had a population of 698.

Longstanton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Cambridge city centre. Longstanton occupies 2,775 acres (1,123 ha). Longstanton was created in 1953 from the two parishes of Long Stanton All Saints and Long Stanton St Michael. While the village is called Longstanton, the alternative form Long Stanton is still in use, for example when referring to the separate pre-1953 parishes, or to the current ecclesiastical parish.

Long Stanton railway station was a station on the Great Eastern Railway, between Cambridge and Huntingdon. It served the villages of Longstanton and Willingham (being roughly midway between them), until closure in October 1970. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann. The railway line through Long Stanton remained open for freight trains from Cambridge to St Ives, Cambridgeshire, until 1992. The track was removed and one platform demolished in 2007, due to construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway; however, the station building remains in private ownership. Parts from the platforms were preserved for re-use on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Rampton is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, situated on the edge of The Fens six miles to the north of Cambridge.

Rampton Castle, known locally as Giant's Hill, is the earthwork remains of a motte and bailey castle in Rampton, Cambridgeshire. It is believed that the castle was constructed during The Anarchy by the forces of King Stephen to contain the revolt of Geoffrey de Mandeville. The castle was not completed; construction was probably halted by de Mandeville's death at nearby Burwell Castle in 1144. Sited near to the churchyard of All Saints' Church, the castle is thought to have been built over the eastern end of the medieval village.

Belsar's Hill is a hillfort near Willingham, Cambridgeshire, England.