St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance
Redinnick Place, Penzance, TR18 4HP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Kershaw
- Diocese
- Diocese of Truro
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- St Ives
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 190
- Pupils on roll
- 141
- URN
- 111998
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01736363009
About this school
St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Penzance. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 141 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 25 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 40% | 40% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 4% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 68% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 52% | 47% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 44% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 99.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cornwall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 56.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 40% | 59.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 133 |
| 2023/24 | 123 |
| 2024/25 | 139 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance compares
St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance ranked 188th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40% | 6.7% | 40.5% | 141 | — |
| Alverton Primary School | 77% | 5.6% | 20.6% | 386 | 0.4 miles |
| Newlyn School | 78% | 6.1% | 41.3% | 152 | 0.6 miles |
| Pensans Community Primary School | 50% | 6.5% | 59.3% | 139 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance | 63% | 9.2% | 53% | 139 | 0.9 miles |
| Heamoor Community Primary School | 47% | 6.2% | 31.3% | 201 | 1.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.48%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 6.73%
- Persistent absence
- 23.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Alverton Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Newlyn School0.6 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Pensans Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance0.9 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Heamoor Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Penzance
Other schools in Penzance
St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance ranks 17th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Penzance.
- Alverton Primary School Primary
- Germoe Community Primary School Primary
- Gulval School Primary
- Heamoor Community Primary School Primary
- Ludgvan School Primary
- Madron Daniel Church of England School Primary
- Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School Primary
- Mousehole School Primary
- Nancledra School Primary
- Newlyn School Primary
- Pendeen School Primary
- Pensans Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance teach?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Penzance.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance?
- The headteacher of St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance is Mrs Helen Kershaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance has 141 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance full?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance has capacity for 190 pupils and 141 on roll (74%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Truro.
- Does St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance as having nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 40% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance rank locally?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance ranked 188th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance's absence rate?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.