South Molton Community College
Old Alswear Road, South Molton, EX36 4LA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- South Molton Co-operative Learning Trust
- Principal
- Mrs Rachel Harper
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North Devon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 656
- URN
- 113512
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01769572129
About this school
South Molton Community College is a foundation secondary school in South Molton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 656 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected South Molton Community College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 122 | 118 | 117 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.5 | 44.9 | 45.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.17 -0.43 to +0.08 | +0.01 -0.25 to +0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 48.3% | 49.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 69.5% | 70.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 25.4% | 46.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
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 South Molton Community College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.5 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.9 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.9 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 657 |
| 2023/24 | 647 |
| 2024/25 | 662 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How South Molton Community College compares
South Molton Community College ranked 21st of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.9 | 11.1% | 19.2% | 656 | — |
| Chulmleigh Community College | 54.1 | 7.7% | 20.4% | 735 | 6.8 miles |
| The Park Community School | 46.6 | 9.7% | 24.3% | 1,408 | 10.2 miles |
| Pilton Community College | 46.4 | 11.2% | 28.5% | 1,165 | 11.5 miles |
| South Molton United CofE Primary School | — | 6% | 26.8% | 222 | 0.3 miles |
| South Molton Community Primary School | — | — | — | 242 | 0.6 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.18%
- English as an additional language
- 3%
- Overall absence
- 11.12%
- Persistent absence
- 31.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Chulmleigh Community College6.8 miles
Secondary · Chulmleigh
-
The Park Community School10.2 miles
Secondary · Barnstaple
-
Pilton Community College11.5 miles
Secondary · Barnstaple
-
South Molton United CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · South Molton
-
South Molton Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · South Molton
Other schools in South Molton
- Bishops Nympton Primary School Primary
- North Molton Primary School Primary
- South Molton Community Primary School Primary
- South Molton United CofE Primary School Primary
- Blackford Education (Schools) Ltd t/a the Libra School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does South Molton Community College teach?
- South Molton Community College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in South Molton.
- Who is the principal of South Molton Community College?
- The principal of South Molton Community College is Mrs Rachel Harper, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has South Molton Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected South Molton Community College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at South Molton Community College?
- South Molton Community College has 656 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is South Molton Community College full?
- South Molton Community College has capacity for 750 pupils and 656 on roll (87%), 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 South Molton Community College a faith school?
- No. South Molton Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is South Molton Community College a selective school?
- No. South Molton Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is South Molton Community College part of an academy trust?
- South Molton Community College is part of South Molton Co-operative Learning Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have South Molton Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.5 in 2022/23 and 45.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does South Molton Community College compare with other schools in Devon?
- South Molton Community College ranked 21st of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is South Molton Community College's absence rate?
- South Molton Community College's overall absence rate is 11.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are South Molton Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, South Molton Community College'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.