Hayle Academy, Hayle

Ofsted's report card from its 2 June 2026 inspection grades Hayle Academy on 6 areas: 2 strong standard and 4 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders carefully identify and then rigorously monitor the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those that are disadvantaged, and those known or previously known to social care."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "The personal development programme is a strength of the school."

Achievement - Expected standard. "On the whole, pupils at Hayle achieve well."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders carefully monitor the attendance of all pupils and intervene with groups and individual pupils successfully."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders ensure that the curriculum is suitable and well planned."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders, including those responsible for governance, are passionate about supporting pupils at Hayle to 'dream big to achieve more'."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teaching swiftly and consistently addresses any gaps in pupils' subject knowledge and within their foundational skills to ensure they do not persist"; "Leaders should continue their work to strengthen the precision of teaching across the curriculum so that pupils are highly motivated to learn and produce work of a consistently high standard".

In 2026, pupils at Hayle Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.7 in Cornwall and 47 across England.

38% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Cornwall and 47% in England.

That is down from 42.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.13: pupils made below 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 28.7, against 46.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 167 families put Hayle Academy as their first choice and 259 named it as one of their preferences, for 135 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 32 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Hayle Academy are St Ives School (3.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.4); and Camborne Science and International Academy (4.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53.6).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Hayle Academy.

Hayle Academy is one of 41 schools run by Truro & Penwith Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 81 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 90% to a further education college and 3% into work.

3.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 88 pupils (14.1%) received SEN support and 39 (6.3%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

Hayle Academy 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, multi-sensory impairment, moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties: 20 places, 23 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Hayle Rail Station, about 660 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hayle Community School (ne-bound), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 62 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cornwall (14), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Hayle Academy issued 121 suspensions, 20 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Hayle Academy are Bodriggy Academy (0.2 miles), Penpol School (0.4 miles) and St Erth Community Primary School (1.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.