Best Schools in Cornwall

How many schools are there in Cornwall?

Cornwall has 281 open schools: 232 state primary, 33 state secondary or all-through, 3 independent, 8 special and 5 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Cornwall are rated Outstanding?

17 schools in Cornwall were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Cornwall College, St Agnes Academy, Newquay Primary Academy, Trenance Learning Academy, Callywith College and 12 more. Counting Good as well, 86% of the 258 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Cornwall CollegeSt Agnes AcademyNewquay Primary AcademyTrenance Learning AcademyCallywith College

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Cornwall get the best GCSE results?

Of the 32 schools in Cornwall with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Richard Lander School, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.7 and 62% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Camborne Science and International Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 53.6 and 60% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Penair School, with an Attainment 8 score of 49.4 and 51% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Richard Lander SchoolCamborne Science and International AcademyPenair School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Cornwall have the best SATs results?

3 of the 206 primary schools in Cornwall with 2025 Key Stage 2 results had every pupil reach the expected standard in both reading and maths: Mousehole School, St Levan Primary School and Trythall Community Primary School. Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Mousehole SchoolSt Levan Primary SchoolTrythall Community Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Cornwall?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Cornwall selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Cornwall have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Cornwall have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Cornwall?

Apply to your council - Cornwall or Devon, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.