Penryn Primary Academy, Penryn

Ofsted's report card from its 31 March 2026 inspection grades Penryn Primary Academy on 7 areas: 2 expected standard and 5 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Early years - Expected standard. "Leaders prioritise children in the early years getting off to a positive start."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have developed a broad personal development and wellbeing offer to support pupils across the school."

Achievement - Needs attention. "There is too much variability in how well some pupils are learning the curriculum."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "The attendance of some pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is too low."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that makes it clear to teachers what to teach and when, including for those pupils in the special education needs unit."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "While the school has systems to identify pupils with additional needs, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not get the support they need to consistently learn well."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders, including trust leaders and those responsible for governance, have a broad understanding of the school's strengths and areas that require further improvement."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders, including the trust, need to strengthen their monitoring of improvement priorities and ensure that their record-keeping accurately reflects the school's decisions and actions so that they can evaluate the impact of their work more effectively"; "Leaders should support staff to develop the expertise needed to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and check with rigour that training leads to these pupils receiving the support they need to learn the curriculum well"; "Leaders should support teachers in raising their expectations of what pupils can achieve and ensure that learning tasks reflect the ambition of the curriculum so that pupils build their knowledge securely from their starting points to develop a deeper understanding across subjects"; "Leaders need to ensure that pupils in key stage 2 with significant gaps in writing are given the support they need to become accurate and fluent writers across the curriculum"; "Leaders should strengthen their work with parents and carers to support effective partnerships and ensure that any remaining concerns are swiftly addressed"; "Leaders need to ensure that the number of pupils who are persistently absent reduces, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities".

In its own words: "At Penryn we strive to develop confident, self-assured, positive young people who love to learn, to contribute and to achieve. We provide for our pupils a dedicated team of staff who are committed to developing the knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding which will enable children to enjoy learning, achieve success and to feel content and fulfilled."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Penryn Nursery serves the town of Penryn and its surrounding communities including Bissom, Lower Treluswell and the Bohelland and Glasney residential areas. We provide expert school-based childcare in a caring and stimulating environment."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include swimming and forest school.

The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care, from £5.50 per session.

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils at Penryn Primary Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 77% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 73% in Cornwall and 77% and 75% across England.

Results fell from 77% in reading and 75% in maths in 2024.

For September 2026 entry, 37 families put Penryn Primary Academy as their first choice and 61 named it as one of their preferences, for 41 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to Penryn Primary Academy are Mabe Community Primary School (0.6 miles, Requires improvement, 64% reading, 73% maths); St Francis CofE Primary School (1.6 miles, Good, 67% reading, 74% maths); St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Falmouth (1.7 miles, Requires improvement, 70% reading, 70% maths); and Falmouth Primary Academy (1.8 miles, Good, 81% reading, 78% maths).

Penryn Primary Academy's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Penryn Primary Academy is one of 38 schools run by Aspire Academy Trust, an academy trust.

62 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Penryn Primary Academy (as of April 2026): 63% would recommend the school, 63% say their child is happy there and 17% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (77%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (17%).

36.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 79 pupils (22.6%) received SEN support and 28 (8%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.

Penryn Primary Academy has a SEN unit for speech, language and communication needs, autism, physical disability and moderate learning difficulties: 10 places, 6 pupils on roll.

Penryn Primary Academy had 25 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Penryn Rail Station, about 320 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).

19 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Green Lane Junction (n-bound), 90 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 66 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and other theft. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cornwall (14), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Penryn Primary Academy issued 2 suspensions, 0.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to Penryn Primary Academy are Penryn College (0.2 miles) and Falmouth School (1.2 miles).