The King's School, Ottery St Mary

In its own words: "Welcome to The King's School. Below you will find all the pages within this section."

From the headteacher's welcome: "The King's School is an 11-18 comprehensive school with approximately 1110 students of which 185 are in the Sixth Form. It has a long and proud history that can be traced back to a fourteenth century choir school which was replaced in 1545 by Henry VIII and renamed 'The King's School'."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, dance, choir, orchestra, Lego, STEM, film, Duke of Edinburgh and book club.

In 2026, pupils at The King's School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Devon and 47 across England.

51% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 45% in Devon and 47% in England.

That is down from 51.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.34: 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 34.9, against 52.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.7 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 218 families put The King's School as their first choice and 374 named it as one of their preferences, for 167 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 53 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The King's School are Sidmouth College (4.5 miles, Attainment 8 46); Cranbrook Education Campus (4.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.2); and Honiton Community College (5.7 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 44.5).

The King's School's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.

The King's School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

343 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The King's School (as of September 2025): 90% would recommend the school, 89% 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 does well at the school (91%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (62%).

Of the 174 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 37% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 111 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 41% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 37% into work. 28% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

13.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 2.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 114 pupils (10.4%) received SEN support and 68 (6.2%) 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.

The King's School had 83 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Feniton Rail Station, about 2.5 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hospital (n-bound), 130 metres away.

In 2024/25, The King's School issued 76 suspensions, 6.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The King's School are Ottery St Mary Primary School (1 mile) and West Hill Primary School (1.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.