Cape Cornwall School, Penzance
Cape Cornwall School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Penzance, part of Truro & Penwith Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2023. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 31st-highest of the 31 schools in Cornwall with published results, and 3,195th of 3,298 across England. It was 58% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2023)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Cornwall (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Cape Cornwall School in detail
Cape Cornwall School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "The thing that blew me away when I walked through the doors at Cape Cornwall for the first time was its spirit. A spirit of togetherness. It’s one of the big benefits of being a small school. We work as a community. We all know each other and support each other, not just academically but in everything we do."
Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at Cape Cornwall School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 32.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.7 in Cornwall and 47 across England.
18% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Cornwall and 47% in England.
That is down from 38.4 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.08: pupils made about average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 24.3, against 39.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 15 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 16 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.
Getting a place at Cape Cornwall School
For September 2026 entry, 62 families put Cape Cornwall School as their first choice and 113 named it as one of their preferences, for 62 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
The trust
Cape Cornwall School is one of 41 schools run by Truro & Penwith Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 39 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 92% to a further education college and 3% to an apprenticeship.
Who goes there
37.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 5.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 35 pupils (11.6%) received SEN support and 35 (11.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Cape Cornwall School has a SEN unit for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
Staffing
Cape Cornwall School had 31 teachers in 2026, one for every 9 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Cape Cornwall School.
1 bus stop is within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cape Cornwall School (e-bound), 260 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Cape Cornwall School issued 101 suspensions, 35.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2023 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management.
About
Cape Cornwall School is a coeducational secondary school located in St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, England. As of January 2022, the school had 270 pupils aged 11 to 16 years.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
37.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SEN unit: SpLD, Vision, Other +9
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.21 to -0.08 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 39.5 to 32.7 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 38% to 18% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 32.7 | 18% |
| Disadvantaged(22) | - | 24.3 | 13.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(28) | - | 39.3 | 21.4% |
| Boys(24) | - | 34.3 | 20.8% |
| Girls(26) | - | 31.2 | 15.4% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(11) | - | 37.0 | 27.3% |
| Non mobile(49) | - | 32.6 | 18.4% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 39 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.70%
Exclusion rate
101
Suspensions
35.56%
Suspension rate
45 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 284 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 1 nearby secondary school
Social & online
Keep up with Cape Cornwall School
Term dates
Cape Cornwall School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Cornwall's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Cape Cornwall School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Cape Cornwall School is in Cornwall; for families living there:
- Cornwall's school travel policy: Home to School Travel Assistance Policy 2026/27
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Cornwall is 3 (the median across 299 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Cape Cornwall School
Will you get a place at Cape Cornwall School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Cape Cornwall School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Cape Cornwall School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Cape Cornwall School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Cornwall, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Cape Cornwall School for 2019 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Cornwall got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
58%
Available places
286 pupils
489 places
203 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Penzance
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Penzance
Across Cornwall council
Places available
6,387
Applications
5,542
Got 1st preference
97.4%
Got preferred school
99.3%
All secondary applications across Cornwall council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
35
SEN Support
35
EHC Plans
23.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Cape Cornwall School has a SEN unit for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
302
Total Pupils
142
Boys
160
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
31
Teachers
9.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,094
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,099
Per pupil
£2503k
Total funding
£97k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.2%
Overall absence
30.1%
Persistent absence
299
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Cape Cornwall School
Questions parents ask about Cape Cornwall School
What are GCSE results like at Cape Cornwall School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Cape Cornwall School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 32.7. 18% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Cape Cornwall School's Ofsted rating?
Cape Cornwall School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2023. At its previous graded inspection in 2017 it was rated Inadequate.
What is the catchment area for Cape Cornwall School?
No fixed boundary. When Cape Cornwall School is oversubscribed, Cornwall allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Cape Cornwall School?
Cape Cornwall School was not full in 2025: it ran at 58% of its 489 places.
How big are the classes at Cape Cornwall School?
Classes at Cape Cornwall School average 16.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Cape Cornwall School?
Cape Cornwall School has around 302 pupils on roll. 37% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Cape Cornwall School have specialist SEN provision?
Cape Cornwall School has a SEN unit for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties: 20 places, 20 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Cape Cornwall School?
10.2% of sessions were missed at Cape Cornwall School in 2024/25. 30.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Cape Cornwall School?
Apply through Cornwall's coordinated admissions process, naming Cape Cornwall School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Cape Cornwall School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Cornwall is 3 (the median across 299 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cape Cornwall School?
Cape Cornwall School is at Cape Cornwall Street, St Just, Penzance, Cornwall, TR19 7JX.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)