Plympton Academy
Moorland Road, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 2RS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Shaun Willis
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
- Constituency
- South West Devon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 984
- URN
- 136556
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03333602220
About this school
Plympton Academy is a secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 984 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Plympton Academy, 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 175 | 197 | 194 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.2 | 41.6 | 43.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.21 -0.43 to 0.00 | -0.39 -0.59 to -0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 36.5% | 43.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 59.4% | 66.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 19.8% | 11.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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 Plympton Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.2 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.6 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.1 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,152 |
| 2023/24 | 1,145 |
| 2024/25 | 1,078 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Plympton Academy compares
Plympton Academy ranked 11th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 | 43.1 | 10.6% | 22% | 984 | — |
| Hele's School | 50.7 | 8% | 16.9% | 1,378 | 0.7 miles |
| Plymstock School | 47.3 | 9.7% | 19% | 1,515 | 2.4 miles |
| Coombe Dean School | 49.2 | 7.9% | 20.7% | 1,000 | 2.6 miles |
| Tor Bridge High | 40.4 | 12.6% | 28% | 1,121 | 2.7 miles |
| Lipson Co-operative Academy | 43.5 | 9.9% | 44.8% | 1,131 | 3.0 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)
- 22.02%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 10.55%
- Persistent absence
- 27.95%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hele's School0.7 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Plymstock School2.4 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Coombe Dean School2.6 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Tor Bridge High2.7 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Lipson Co-operative Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Plympton Academy ranks 11th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Plymouth.
- All Saints Church of England Academy Secondary
- Coombe Dean School Secondary
- Devonport High School for Boys Secondary
- Devonport High School for Girls Secondary
- Eggbuckland Community College Secondary
- Hele's School Secondary
- Lipson Co-operative Academy Secondary
- Marine Academy Plymouth Secondary
- Millbay Academy Secondary
- Notre Dame RC School Secondary
- Plymouth High School for Girls Secondary
- Plymstock School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Plympton Academy teach?
- Plympton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the principal of Plympton Academy?
- The principal of Plympton Academy is Mr Shaun Willis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Plympton Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Plympton Academy, 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 Plympton Academy?
- Plympton Academy has 984 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Plympton Academy full?
- Plympton Academy has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 984 on roll (73%), 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 Plympton Academy a faith school?
- No. Plympton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Plympton Academy a selective school?
- No. Plympton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Plympton Academy part of an academy trust?
- Plympton Academy is part of THE THINKING SCHOOLS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Plympton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.2 in 2022/23 and 43.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Plympton Academy compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Plympton Academy ranked 11th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 Plympton Academy's absence rate?
- Plympton Academy's overall absence rate is 10.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Plympton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Plympton Academy'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.