Devonport High School for Boys, Plymouth

In 2026, pupils at Devonport High School for Boys averaged an Attainment 8 score of 65.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.3 in Plymouth and 47 across England.

89% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Plymouth and 47% in England.

That is down from 69.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.3: pupils made above 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 56.4, against 65.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 9.3 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

Devonport High School for Boys is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 234 families put Devonport High School for Boys as their first choice and 261 named it as one of their preferences, for 208 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 26 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Devonport High School for Boys admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Devonport High School for Boys ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Plymouth's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Plymouth has 3 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Devonport High School for Boys are Stoke Damerel Community College (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.3); Scott Medical and Healthcare College (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.2); Millbay Academy (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.3); and UTC Plymouth (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 31.5).

Devonport High School for Boys's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Of the 179 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 94% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 15% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 168 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 54% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 26% into work. 43% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

7.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 10.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (68%), Mixed (7%) and Asian (5%).

In 2026, 77 pupils (5.9%) received SEN support and 9 (0.7%) 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.

The nearest railway station is Devonport Rail Station, about 800 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Paradise Road Dhs Boys (sch2), 50 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 1014 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Plymouth (196), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Devonport High School for Boys issued 13 suspensions, 1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Devonport High School for Boys are High Street Primary Academy (0.2 miles), Stoke Damerel Primary Academy (0.2 miles), Stuart Road Primary Academy (0.3 miles) and The Cathedral School of St Mary (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.