Humphry Davy School
Coombe Road, Penzance, TR18 2TG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Penwith Education Trust (PET)
- Headteacher
- Mr William Marshall
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- St Ives
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 926
- Pupils on roll
- 740
- URN
- 112067
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01736363559
About this school
Humphry Davy School is a foundation secondary school in Penzance. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 740 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 172 | 198 | 146 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.8 | 42.2 | 41.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.47 to -0.04 | -0.27 -0.47 to -0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 35.9% | 36.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 59.1% | 55.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 22.7% | 21.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Humphry Davy School 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 | 42.8 | 41.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.2 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.5 | 41.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 809 |
| 2023/24 | 804 |
| 2024/25 | 770 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Humphry Davy School compares
Humphry Davy School ranked 27th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.5 | 10.6% | 38.7% | 740 | — |
| Mounts Bay Academy | 43.7 | 9.3% | 22.1% | 922 | 0.7 miles |
| St Ives School | 45 | 8.8% | 23.4% | 580 | 6.0 miles |
| Cape Cornwall School | 38.4 | 10.2% | 33.8% | 302 | 6.5 miles |
| Hayle Academy | 42.4 | 8.1% | 30.6% | 623 | 7.1 miles |
| Camborne Science and International Academy | 49.7 | 7.5% | 26.5% | 1,751 | 11.9 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)
- 38.7%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 10.55%
- Persistent absence
- 33.95%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mounts Bay Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Penzance
-
St Ives School6.0 miles
Secondary · St Ives
-
Cape Cornwall School6.5 miles
Secondary · Penzance
-
Hayle Academy7.1 miles
Secondary · Hayle
-
Camborne Science and International Academy11.9 miles
Secondary · Camborne
Other schools in Penzance
- Cape Cornwall School Secondary
- Mounts Bay Academy Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Humphry Davy School teach?
- Humphry Davy School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Penzance.
- Who is the headteacher of Humphry Davy School?
- The headteacher of Humphry Davy School is Mr William Marshall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Humphry Davy School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Humphry Davy School, 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 Humphry Davy School?
- Humphry Davy School has 740 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Humphry Davy School full?
- Humphry Davy School has capacity for 926 pupils and 740 on roll (80%), 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 Humphry Davy School a faith school?
- No. Humphry Davy School has no designated religious character.
- Is Humphry Davy School a selective school?
- No. Humphry Davy School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Humphry Davy School?
- Humphry Davy School is part of The Penwith Education Trust (PET). Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Humphry Davy School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.8 in 2022/23 and 41.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Humphry Davy School rank locally?
- Humphry Davy School ranked 27th of 31 secondary schools in Cornwall for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Humphry Davy School's absence rate?
- Humphry Davy School's overall absence rate is 10.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Humphry Davy School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Humphry Davy School'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.