Stoke Damerel Community College, Plymouth

Ofsted's report card from its 24 March 2026 inspection grades Stoke Damerel Community College on 7 areas: 4 expected standard and 3 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders identify pupils' individual needs quickly and accurately."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders act in the best interests of pupils."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have planned a personal development curriculum that prepares pupils for healthy adult lives."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils at the end of Year 11 do not achieve as highly in their qualifications as their peers nationally."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Attendance at this school is lower than the national average."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Teaching is inconsistent across the curriculum, meaning pupils do not have a high-quality experience in every lesson."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that weaknesses in pupils' written accuracy, including spelling, punctuation and handwriting, are identified consistently and addressed systematically, so that pupils are able to demonstrate their knowledge effectively and achieve as well as they should in qualifications"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently apply effective strategies and adaptations for pupils with barriers to learning, so that these pupils receive the support they need to achieve as well as their peers"; "Leaders should strengthen the consistency and impact of their work on behaviour so that there is a culture of mutual respect between pupils and bullying rarely occurs"; "Leaders and governors should ensure that identified school improvement priorities are implemented consistently and evaluated rigorously, so that strategies lead to measurable improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils' attainment".

In its own words: "Stoke Damerel Community College sits on a hill to the north of Plymouth and from three sides it has a stunning panoramic view over the city. Visit the College and you will notice immediately a warm and welcoming atmosphere."

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is an absolute privilege to be the Principal, to drive the standards and performance of the College and to share my passion for supporting and developing students to realise their potential and prepare them for the next journey in their lives."

In 2026, pupils at Stoke Damerel Community College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 38.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.3 in Plymouth and 47 across England.

29% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Plymouth and 47% in England.

That is up from 35.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.19: 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 32.3, against 43.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Statistics and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 233 families put Stoke Damerel Community College as their first choice and 413 named it as one of their preferences, for 255 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 secondary schools to Stoke Damerel Community College are Scott Medical and Healthcare College (under 0.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.2); Devonport High School for Boys (0.5 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 65.1); UTC Plymouth (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 31.5); and Devonport High School for Girls (0.9 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 74.9).

Stoke Damerel Community College's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Stoke Damerel Community College is one of 39 schools run by Greenshaw Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48 in 2024/25.

133 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Stoke Damerel Community College (as of April 2026): 77% would recommend the school, 71% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (78%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).

Of the 217 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 50% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 53 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 30% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 26% into work. 2% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

39.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 153 pupils (11.8%) received SEN support and 35 (2.7%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

Stoke Damerel Community College has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, social, emotional and mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties: 10 places, 12 pupils on roll.

Stoke Damerel Community College had 102 teachers in 2026, one for every 12 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Devonport Rail Station, about 880 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).

15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is New Zealand House (ne-bound), 150 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Stoke Damerel Community College stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 914 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, Stoke Damerel Community College issued 639 suspensions, 49.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 4 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Stoke Damerel Community College are Stuart Road Primary Academy (0.3 miles), Stoke Damerel Primary Academy (0.4 miles), Ford Primary School (0.5 miles) and The Cathedral School of St Mary (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.