St Stephen Churchtown Academy, St Austell
St Stephen Churchtown Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in St Austell, part of Aspire Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 7th-highest of the 14 schools in St Austell with published results, and 8,950th of 14,452 across England. It was 79% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2018)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cornwall (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Stephen Churchtown Academy in detail
St Stephen Churchtown Academy in its own words
In its own words: "At St Stephen Churchtown Academy, we ensure that every child is valued and nurtured to enable them to become the best that they can be . We want our children to be kind to each other and respect our school and the environment around them."
From the headteacher's welcome: "St Stephen Churchtown Nursery serves the village of St Stephen and its surrounding communities of Coombe, Goonabarn, Menna, Stepaside, Terras, Trelion, Treneague and Treviscoe. Specifically designed for children aged 2 to 4 years, our school-based nursery helps bridge the gap between pre-school and Reception Class, providing the best of starts to your child’s learning journey."
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils at St Stephen Churchtown Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 69% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 73% in Cornwall and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (67% in reading, 76% in maths).
Getting a place at St Stephen Churchtown Academy
For September 2026 entry, 30 families put St Stephen Churchtown Academy as their first choice and 44 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at St Stephen Churchtown Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Stephen Churchtown Academy are Foxhole Learning Academy (1.6 miles, Good, 70% reading, 50% maths); Nanpean Community Primary School (1.9 miles, 29% reading, 50% maths); Grampound Road Village CofE School (2.7 miles, Good, 59% reading, 59% maths); and St Dennis Primary Academy (2.7 miles, Good, 70% reading, 75% maths).
St Stephen Churchtown Academy's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Foxhole Learning AcademyNanpean Community Primary SchoolGrampound Road Village CofE SchoolSt Dennis Primary Academy
The trust
St Stephen Churchtown Academy is one of 38 schools run by Aspire Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Who goes there
0.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 72 pupils (25.4%) received SEN support and 16 (5.6%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of St Stephen Churchtown Academy.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Glen Vue (ne-bound), 90 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 7 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cornwall (14).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Stephen Churchtown Academy issued 12 suspensions, 4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; 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 · 2 years agoThis judgement is from September 2018, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils display great pride in being a part of this inclusive school. Staff know pupils well. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families. The school works tirelessly to secure extra help and support for those in need.
Pupils feel safe. Typically, they behave well in class. Pupils mix well together on the playground and field. They enjoy the wide range of equipment to play with. A few pupils struggle to meet the school's high expectations. The school supports them well. Staff expect pupils to work hard. They respond well to this. In the early years, children in the new two-year-old provision settle quickly. This is because staff have clear expectations and routines.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has strengthened its quality of education since the last inspection. Leaders have taken decisions for the long term. Central to the school's strategy was to prioritise the early years. Here, it has made significant investments in terms of staffing, curriculum and resources. This has meant that children get off to a flying start. Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly in the Nursery. Children have any gaps in their learning quickly identified. Skilled staff plan activities carefully to ensure they develop children's independence. The outdoor environment has been overhauled and now helps to promote learning across the curriculum.
The school has developed an ambitious curriculum. This has not been without its complications. St Stephen's mixed-age class structure changes from year to year. Therefore, differing year groups encounter new topics in a different order. The school carefully mitigates the potential pitfalls of this. It forensically analyses and adapts the curriculum accordingly. As a result, pupils build on their knowledge in a logical way.
From Ofsted's July 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its September 2018 inspection - up from Inadequate.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
18.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 67% to 78% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 76% to 69% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 75% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.1
Avg class size
21.8
Infant (KS1)
29.6
KS2
9
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with St Stephen Churchtown Academy
Term dates
St Stephen Churchtown Academy 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 St Stephen Churchtown Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Stephen Churchtown Academy 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
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 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 St Stephen Churchtown Academy
Will you get a place at St Stephen Churchtown Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Stephen Churchtown Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Stephen Churchtown Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Stephen Churchtown Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Cornwall, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Stephen Churchtown Academy for 2016 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
79%
Available places
249 pupils
315 places
66 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Austell
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Austell
Across Cornwall council
Places available
6,475
Applications
4,732
Got 1st preference
95.9%
Got preferred school
99.6%
All primary applications across Cornwall council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
72
SEN Support
16
EHC Plans
31.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
284
Total Pupils
149
Boys
135
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
23.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,857
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,356
Per pupil
£1512k
Total funding
£74k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.6%
Overall absence
12.6%
Persistent absence
238
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Stephen Churchtown Academy
Questions parents ask about St Stephen Churchtown Academy
What are SATs results like at St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
Of the pupils at St Stephen Churchtown Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 78% reached the expected standard in reading and 69% did so in maths.
What is St Stephen Churchtown Academy's Ofsted rating?
St Stephen Churchtown Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2018, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
No fixed boundary. When St Stephen Churchtown Academy is oversubscribed, Cornwall allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
St Stephen Churchtown Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 79% of its 315 places.
How big are the classes at St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
Classes at St Stephen Churchtown Academy average 26.1 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
St Stephen Churchtown Academy has around 284 pupils on roll. 18% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
5.6% of sessions were missed at St Stephen Churchtown Academy in 2024/25. 12.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
Apply through Cornwall's coordinated admissions process, naming St Stephen Churchtown Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 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 St Stephen Churchtown Academy?
St Stephen Churchtown Academy is at Creakavose, St Stephen, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 7NZ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)