Torquay Girls' Grammar School
30 Shiphay Lane, Torquay, TQ2 7DY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TORQUAY GIRLS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Ms Sarah Forster
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,058
- URN
- 136506
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803613215
About this school
Torquay Girls' Grammar School is a girls' secondary academy in Torquay. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,058 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Torquay Girls' Grammar School, 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 146 | 155 | 156 |
| Attainment 8 score | 70.2 | 68.9 | 68.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.27 to +0.74 | +0.37 +0.14 to +0.60 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 94% | 90.3% | 89.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 97.4% | 97.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 90% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.8 | 6.7 | 6.7 |
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 Torquay Girls' Grammar 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 | Torbay average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70.2 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 68.9 | 36.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 68.6 | 38.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 997 |
| 2023/24 | 1,007 |
| 2024/25 | 1,021 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Torquay Girls' Grammar School compares
Torquay Girls' Grammar School ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Torbay for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68.6 | 5.2% | 5.5% | 1,058 | — |
| Torquay Boys' Grammar School | 70.8 | 4.2% | 5.9% | 1,087 | 0.2 miles |
| Torquay Academy | 47.6 | 10.1% | 31.3% | 1,472 | 0.5 miles |
| St Cuthbert Mayne School | 39.7 | 11.4% | 41.2% | 1,001 | 1.1 miles |
| The Spires College | 44.5 | 8.6% | 30.8% | 1,154 | 1.3 miles |
| Paignton Academy | 36.9 | 11.4% | 33.6% | 1,568 | 3.5 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)
- 5.45%
- English as an additional language
- 6.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.22%
- Persistent absence
- 10.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Torquay Boys' Grammar School0.2 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
Torquay Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
St Cuthbert Mayne School1.1 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
The Spires College1.3 miles
Secondary · Torquay
-
Paignton Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Paignton
Other schools in Torquay
Torquay Girls' Grammar School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Torquay.
- St Cuthbert Mayne School Secondary
- The Spires College Secondary
- Torquay Academy Secondary
- Torquay Boys' Grammar School Secondary
- All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Primary
- Cockington Primary School Primary
- Ellacombe Church of England Academy Primary
- Homelands Primary School Primary
- Ilsham Church of England Academy Primary
- Lift Barton Hill Primary
- Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
- Preston Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Torquay Girls' Grammar School teach?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Torquay.
- Who is the headteacher of Torquay Girls' Grammar School?
- The headteacher of Torquay Girls' Grammar School is Ms Sarah Forster, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Torquay Girls' Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Torquay Girls' Grammar 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 many pupils are at Torquay Girls' Grammar School?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School has 1,058 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Torquay Girls' Grammar School full?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,058 on roll (88%), 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 Torquay Girls' Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Torquay Girls' Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Torquay Girls' Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Torquay Girls' Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Torquay Girls' Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School is part of TORQUAY GIRLS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Torquay Girls' Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 70.2 in 2022/23 and 68.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Torquay Girls' Grammar School compare with other schools in Torbay?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Torbay for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Torquay Girls' Grammar School's absence rate?
- Torquay Girls' Grammar School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Torquay Girls' Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Torquay Girls' Grammar 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 1 July 2026.