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Cape Cornwall School

Secondary · Penzance · TR19 7JX

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

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

Inspected 17 January 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

302 pupils · 50% of 600 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
37.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
9.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.cape.cornwall.sch.uk
URN
146325

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 62 families named it first for 62 Year 7 places, 1.00 first choices per place. Ofsted last graded it Good on 17 January 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

62 places offered · 62 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
38.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
57.9%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
31.6%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.6
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 school38.4
Median of its 12 closest peers41.6
Cornwall average44.8
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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
Stradbroke High SchoolEye · 337 miles awayGood44.3
Lift New ForestSouthampton · 195 miles awayGood38.5
Aldridge UTC WarringtonWarrington · 262 miles awayRequires improvement23
Carisbrooke CollegeNewport · 197 miles awayRequires improvement41.4
St Dunstan's SchoolGlastonbury · 148 miles awayGood45.7
The Banovallum SchoolHorncastle · 320 miles awayGood41.9
Park AcademySouth Ockendon · 276 miles awayRequires improvement37.5
Ixworth High SchoolIxworth · 320 miles awayGood44
The Macclesfield AcademyMacclesfield · 264 miles awayRequires improvement42.7
Sir William Stanier SchoolCrewe · 249 miles awayNeeds attention28.4
Lakelands AcademyEllesmere · 226 miles awayExpected standard43.1
Withernsea High SchoolWithernsea · 348 miles awayRequires improvement38.9

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

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: SEN unit.

SEN unit
20 of 20 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 95% (Cornwall 89%, England 59%) · Any other White background 3% (Cornwall 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 1% (Cornwall 2%, England 2%) · White Irish 1% (Cornwall 0%, England 0%)

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)
9.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
25.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

35.56 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Cornwall: 37.09 suspensions and 0.43 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
13.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

54% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 16% moved to another state school · 30% 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)

65.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 10.4 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 £48,094; 9.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£10,088
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 8% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£972,000; in-year balance -£179,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
90%
Continuing in education
86%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
0%

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)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher32.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways21.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health39.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier62.6%62.3%
Social housing18.1%17.1%
Privately rented19.3%20.5%
Detached houses12.1%22.9%
Flats14.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms13.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van24.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01018993 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£245,00076 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£200,000–£327,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (13)£395,000
Semi-detached (9)£240,000
Terraced (49)£230,000
Flat (5)£205,000

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

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
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
1a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
1a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
0a rural school averages 0.9

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