SchoolFacts.uk

The Park Community School

Secondary · Barnstaple · EX32 9AX

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 3 June 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,408 pupils · 94% of 1,500 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
26.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
4.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.theparkschool.org.uk
URN
146094

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 252 families named it first for 252 Year 7 places, 1.00 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2021 entry went to 1716.3 m (≈1.07 mi); distance decided places in 2 of the 8 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2019 to 2026. At its inspection on 3 June 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

252 places offered · 252 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2021 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1716.3 m (≈1.07 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

278 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
46.6
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
65.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
47.5%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.2
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school46.6
Median of its 12 closest peers44.7
Devon average45.9
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Colne Valley High SchoolHuddersfield · 199 miles awayGood42.4
Sir Robert Pattinson AcademyLincoln · 207 miles awayGood (2016)45.9
Haslingden High School and Sixth FormRossendale · 195 miles awayExpected standard44.2
The Knights Templar SchoolBaldock · 178 miles awayGood48.5
Sir John Leman High SchoolBeccles · 258 miles awayExpected standard44.8
Colne Community SchoolColchester · 224 miles awayGood43
Thorp AcademyRyton · 286 miles awayGood47.2
Oxted SchoolOxted · 176 miles awayExpected standard44.6
The Streetly AcademySutton Coldfield · 139 miles awayGood42.1
The Marches SchoolOswestry · 130 miles awayGood43.1
Chelmer Valley High SchoolChelmsford · 201 miles awayGood45.3
Plymstock SchoolPlymouth · 49 miles awayGood47.3

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 88% (Devon 87%, England 59%) · Any other White background 3% (Devon 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 3% (Devon 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Devon 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Devon 1%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (Devon 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Devon 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
24.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

33.73 suspensions per 100 pupils and 4 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Devon: 36.27 suspensions and 0.29 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
17.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

92% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 1% moved to another state school · 7% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

26.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,068; 8.1% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
91%
Continuing in education
78%
Apprenticeship
8%
Employment
6%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher36.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications14.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work37.9%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways12.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier81.9%62.3%
Social housing5.9%17.1%
Privately rented12.2%20.5%
Detached houses59.4%22.9%
Flats9.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms45%21.1%
Households with no car or van11.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020128 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£228,000230 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£178,500–£300,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (53)£370,000
Semi-detached (37)£240,000
Terraced (106)£210,000
Flat (34)£132,500

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.72 km, 2021 entry): 605 sales, median £230,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
4an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools