St Peter's Church of England Aided School, Exeter
St Peter's Church of England Aided School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Exeter. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in April 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the highest of the 8 schools in Exeter with published results, and 863rd of 3,298 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.4 first-choice applications for every place. It was full in 2025, at 101% of capacity.
- GCSE results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Above average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Devon (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
St Peter's Church of England Aided School in detail
St Peter's Church of England Aided School in its own words
In its own words: "Our "Excellent" SIAMS and "Good " Ofsted inspection judgements recognise that we are working well as a community to ensure that students receive an excellent education that enables them to "Live life to the full" . Our relentless commitment to learning means we know we can always do even better."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2026, pupils at St Peter's Church of England Aided School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Devon and 47 across England.
57% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Devon and 47% in England.
That is down from 53 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.33: 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 40.5, against 52.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.7 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Physics, Biology and Chemistry.
Getting a place at St Peter's Church of England Aided School
For September 2026 entry, 335 families put St Peter's Church of England Aided School as their first choice and 570 named it as one of their preferences, for 236 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 103 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Peter's Church of England Aided School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to St Peter's Church of England Aided School are St Luke's Church of England School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.6); Isca Academy (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.4); St James School (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.2); and Atkinson Secure Children's Home (1.5 miles).
St Peter's Church of England Aided School's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.
St Luke's Church of England SchoolIsca AcademySt James SchoolAtkinson Secure Children's Home
What parents say
239 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Peter's Church of England Aided School (as of September 2025): 86% would recommend the school, 87% say their child is happy there and 62% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (62%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 260 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 89% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 87% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.
Who goes there
13.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 125 pupils (9.6%) received SEN support and 105 (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 autism.
Staffing
St Peter's Church of England Aided School had 96 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Digby & Sowton Rail Station, about 840 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).
22 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Peters School (adjacent), 170 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Peter's Church of England Aided School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 213 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Devon (16), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Peter's Church of England Aided School issued 193 suspensions, 14.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to St Peter's Church of England Aided School are Woodwater Academy (0.3 miles), St Nicholas Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles), Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School (0.4 miles) and Whipton Barton Junior School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Woodwater AcademySt Nicholas Catholic Primary SchoolClyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary SchoolWhipton Barton Junior School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from September 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's April 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
St Peter's excels at helping every pupil feel they belong by treating them as individuals and providing swift support for those who struggle. The school combines strong academic teaching with excellent character development, encouraging pupils to become leaders who stand up for others. Pupils enjoy warm relationships with staff and behave exceptionally well, while also having many opportunities to develop through leadership roles, outdoor activities and volunteering.
Key Strengths
- Strong pastoral care and warm relationships between staff and pupils, resulting in consistently good behaviour
- High value placed on character development through the 'character compass' with pupils engaged in community leadership and social action
- Effective teaching and proactive identification of learning gaps across subjects with regular checks on pupil progress
- Excellent support for pupils with SEND through specialist teaching, particularly for literacy
- High overall pupil attendance compared to national average
Areas for Improvement
- Attendance of disadvantaged pupils remains inconsistently low, affecting their learning outcomes
- Some pupils with SEND have a narrower curriculum offer, limiting their access to subjects like modern foreign languages and rich literature
- Lower than national average uptake of English Baccalaureate subjects, though this is improving
- PSHE curriculum has not consistently equipped all pupils with secure knowledge of British values and how they relate to laws and institutions
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school demonstrating strong commitment to pupil wellbeing and mental health support.
Extracurricular Activities
Leadership roles, outdoor pursuits, volunteering programmes, mental health advocacy
St Peter's Church of England Aided School is a secondary comprehensive school that maintains a strong commitment to knowing each pupil as an individual and providing consistently effective teaching alongside strong pastoral care. The school has received a Good rating across all key inspection areas.
At a Glance
13.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
239 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has remained stable at around 0.33 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 50.7 to 50.9 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 57% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 50.9 | 56.8% |
| Disadvantaged(29) | - | 40.5 | 27.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(221) | - | 52.2 | 60.6% |
| Boys(130) | - | 49.7 | 56.9% |
| Girls(120) | - | 52.2 | 56.7% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(39) | - | 53.5 | 64.1% |
| Non mobile(243) | - | 50.6 | 56.4% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 1 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 260 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.15%
Exclusion rate
193
Suspensions
14.79%
Suspension rate
60 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,305 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Latest from St Peter's Church of England Aided School
Open Day Questions
16 Sep 2026
Summer Concert 2026
20 Jul 2026
Devon Schools Library Service Carnegie Event
9 Jul 2026
Transition from Year 6
30 Jun 2026
Weather Update
25 Jun 2026
Moving to On-line Learning
23 Jun 2026
From St Peter's Church of England Aided School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with St Peter's Church of England Aided School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Peter's Church of England Aided School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Peter's Church of England Aided School is in Devon; for families living there:
- Devon's school travel policy: Free school transport
- How to apply: Apply for free school transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 21
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 21 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 19 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
5 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 Devon is 3 (the median across 426 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 St Peter's Church of England Aided School
Will you get a place at St Peter's Church of England Aided School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Peter's Church of England Aided School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Peter's Church of England Aided School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Peter's Church of England Aided School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Devon, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Peter's Church of England Aided School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Devon 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
101%
Over capacity
1,305 pupils
1,300 places
5 pupils over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Exeter
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Exeter
Across Devon council
Places available
7,788
Applications
7,251
Got 1st preference
93.3%
Got preferred school
98.4%
All secondary applications across Devon council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(12)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
125
SEN Support
105
EHC Plans
17.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,305
Total Pupils
674
Boys
631
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
96
Teachers
13.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,960
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,547
Per pupil
£8963k
Total funding
£177k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.6%
Overall absence
17.4%
Persistent absence
1,327
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
St Peter's Church of England Aided School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about St Peter's Church of England Aided School
What are GCSE results like at St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at St Peter's Church of England Aided School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 50.9. 57% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is St Peter's Church of England Aided School's Ofsted rating?
St Peter's Church of England Aided School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
No fixed boundary. When St Peter's Church of England Aided School is oversubscribed, Devon allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
St Peter's Church of England Aided School was full in 2025, at 100% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
Classes at St Peter's Church of England Aided School average 23.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
St Peter's Church of England Aided School has around 1305 pupils on roll. 13% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
7.6% of sessions were missed at St Peter's Church of England Aided School in 2024/25. 17.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
Apply through Devon's coordinated admissions process, naming St Peter's Church of England Aided 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 St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 21 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 19 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 5 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 Devon is 3 (the median across 426 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Peter's Church of England Aided School?
St Peter's Church of England Aided School is at Quarry Lane, Heavitree, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AP.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)